


Gathering Memories

by Fiobri



Category: Naruto, One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Crew as Family, Dimension Travel, First Meetings, Friendship, Fuuinjutsu, Gen, Memory Loss, Protective Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Slow To Update, Team as Family, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26081878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiobri/pseuds/Fiobri
Summary: The kid was blonde, a pariah and outcast, loved the color orange, claimed to be a ninja, and had three whisker marks on each cheek. History of his past repeats itself on the island he landed on with no memory and the lost child would love nothing more than to find acceptance and his real home. Fortunately for him, there's a straw hat boy with a scar under his eye heading his way and not taking no for an answer.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Uzumaki Naruto, Nami & Uzumaki Naruto, Roronoa Zoro & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 67
Kudos: 200
Collections: Time Travel and World Travel





	1. Wheat Village

_ “I want to get strong enough to protect my precious people!” _

His own words echoed in his head, another snippet of dreams slipping through to reality. The twelve-year-old blond with no past and no true way to remember it sighed heavily and looked skyward. An easy feat since he was lying on the ground. He was just a little bit scuffed up because of his latest chase with his blue birdie friend. 

Closing his eyes the preteen let the bone deep  _ ache _ in his heart surge so that it could go back asleep again. 

‘Precious people’… he didn’t  _ have _ those. At least, not anymore. They weren’t here but inside his dreams, his memories. He remembered ninja. A shinobi world. Not a place with sea, sea, and sea with islands everywhere in between. It… there weren’t a lot of fond memories… Many bad ones he’d really like to forget again. 

But he at least had  _ someone _ be there for him. Hokage-jiji and later Iruka-sensei. Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan. Kakashi-sensei too. 

It  _ hurt _ . To remember having precious people but not have anything. Anyone. Just the island with the village that thought him an anomaly, a monster, something other than  _ human _ . 

The worst thing was… he didn’t  _ truly _ know if they were wrong or right. 

He’d appeared in a giant flash of light at the bottom of a crater it left behind. A crater that used to be a nearby hill. And he’d been found unconscious but unscatched. He had ‘superhuman’ abilities that were the norm in his memories. People were wary. They feared that he would blow up like some bomb and there’d be no village left. It was way too similar to Konoha’s people. 

And he was determined to prove them wrong! 

But… It’s just… 

He was so  _ alone _ . 

_ “You were _ everything _ to him! He gave  _ his life _ for you! Does that mean  _ nothing _!?” _

_ “Even shinobi are human” _

_ "I'll never go back on my word!" _

Haku… Zabuza. He remembered now. His first C-rank mission to Wave Country. Where his team became more than a team. Where he formed his nindo. His ninja way. Never give up, never go back on his word. Protect his precious people no matter what. Protect  _ Team 7 _ . 

He took a shuddering breath, letting one tear escape past his eyelids. 

With the press of memories gone he opened his eyes to the tweeting sound of his playing partner. The blue birdie who he’d been chasing and almost caught this time. She looked at him with worried black eyes and twittered. He let out a rough laugh before sitting up and grinning, masking pain behind a familiar expression. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Guess what! I remembered a new trick! Next time I’ll definitely catch you!” 

The bird looked at him for a second longer before puffing her feathers up proudly. Naruto pouted. 

“C’mon, Bluey, I’ve caught you  _ seven times _ now!”, he told it, completely ignoring the fact that Bluey had evaded him at least  _ seventy _ . 

His little friend clacked its beak and took off to the skies. The blonde with whisker marks sighed again. 

“See you tomorrow, I guess…”, he hopped to his feet easily enough before grinning. It was much more real than before. 

After all, he could learn to walk on walls now! That had to count for  _ something! _

xXXx

There were two boats at the horizon. 

Naruto felt both ecstatic and apprehensive. The last time uninvited people came to Wheat Village… didn’t go… well. He shook his head to clear the memory and hoped this time they weren’t hostile. He  _ would _ step in to protect the people if they attacked but… 

He shuddered. Those eyes. They always followed him. Everywhere he went. Whispers, threats, and fear and he  _ hated that _ . 

Well, at least they came from this side so he could confront them first. Or observe them. Naruto  _ did _ know how to hide, even in his favourite colour. Though he hadn’t been able to get anything but a shirt fully orange. Even that had a red spiral Sasha stitched for him. His shorts were black and sandals a dark gray. The dark brown hoodie  _ did _ have two orange stripes down the sleeves as decoration though. 

The blond hid in the big trees of the forest. It was the only part of the small-ish island that  _ had _ a bigger forest. Everything else was farmland or hills. One of which his…  _ arrival _ had destroyed. 

Anyway, at a glance the three occupants of the boat were strangely diverse. A straw hat boy with a red vest and… was he  _ bouncing? _ Yeah, the teen was excited alright. It made him grin a little. That didn’t seem like something a person who wanted to harm others would do. Reminded him of  _ himself _ actually. 

The other was green haired. With not one, not two, but  _ three _ katana at his hip. Whoa. Could he use all of them at once, he wondered? That would be  _ awesome _ to see in action… As long as the action wasn’t aimed at the village. 

Last but not least, there was an  _ orange _ haired woman on board. His eyes were probably sparkling. Someone had  _ orange hair! _ That was so cool! Hair in his  _ favorite _ color! He was kind of jealous. She didn’t have any visible weapons on her and was shaking her head at something or other with a smile. Naruto liked her already. 

Well, as long as they wouldn’t hurt anyone here. Except maybe Kai and his gang. Sasha they should leave alone at the pain of  _ pain! _ She was the only one to  _ do _ things for him, even if she was a grouchy old woman. And had…  _ those _ eyes. 

“Land ho, land ho!”, the straw hat guy whooped as he leaped from the boat to land in a jump Naruto thought only  _ he _ was able to do here. 

Excitement flashed through him and he let his grin widen. There was a sliver of hope in there too. That maybe he wasn’t alone as a shinobi here. Maybe there were others. But the teen didn’t really move like a ninja so probably not. 

“You’re way too excited about this. I told you it was just to gather food supplies. Wheat Village has good ingredients”, the orange lady told the raven haired straw hat guy who puckered his lips in a pout. 

“Boo! Where’s your sense of adventure?”, he booed childishly. 

The swordsman just yawned as he stepped to shore and Naruto’s eyes were immediately drawn to his sharp eyes and earrings, thinking he reminded him of a scarier Shikamaru. A pang of homesickness was easily ignored. Again. 

“Oi, Nami. Which way is the village?”, the swordsman asked, “I want a taste of their sake” 

Naruto thought for a second before nodding to himself. They didn’t seem like they’d cause trouble. Not on purpose at least. Might as well say hello. He  _ was _ curious after all. So he jumped down from the trees and landed at the edge of the forest. 

“Yo!”, he greeted, copying Kakashi-sensei. 

Everyone stared. For two seconds. Then… 

“Yo!”, the teen with the straw hat copied, down to the hand lifted up in greeting. 

Naruto grinned happily. He was right, these guys looked like fun. 

“Sorry for listening in”, he snickered, not sorry at all, “Wheat Village is that way! I can show you there”, he pointed right where they’d find a road that would take them straight to their destination. 

The straw hat guy grinned, “Thanks!” 

And then started walking after Naruto who was just a step ahead. He heard that Nami lady grumble something about way too easy trust and the swordsman replying that he was just a helpful kid. It was nice to be thought of as helpful for once. 

“So, I’m Naruto. Who’re you guys?”, he asked, turning to walk backwards. He knew the way well enough. 

“Shishishishi, I’m Luffy! They’re Nami and Zoro, my crewmates”, the straw hat guy told him. 

Naruto blinked and tilted his head in question, “Crewmates?” 

“We’re pirates!”, Luffy stated proudly, “I’m going to be the King of the Pirates!” 

The twelve-year-old heard Nami mutter something about being just acquaintances but he was so shocked at the matter-of-fact declaration he tripped on a rock he  _ knew _ was there and yelped. Reflexes kicked in and he flipped on his hands to end up back on his feet, facing Luffy with an incredulous look. 

“Pirates?”, he asked since they didn’t  _ look _ it. And that  _ surety _ behind Luffy’s statement… it reminded him of his  _ own _ once-dream. Hokage. He didn’t know if he ever made it. 

Zoro, the swordsman, seemed to be re-evaluating him for some reason. Probably intrigued at the show of easy acrobatics. Luffy laughed again and confirmed it. 

“Yup!” 

Now Naruto was just the littlest bit worried and frowned at all of them, “You won’t try to burn or destroy the village, will you? Or steal?” 

Nami was quick to placate him, even as Zoro gave her a side-eye, “ _ No _ . We’re here to restock since  _ this idiot- _ ”, she pointed to Luffy, “-ate all our food” 

The blond frowned at her, judging sincerity, and then grinned brightly. 

“That’s okay then! C’mon, I have some stuff I need to do so I’ll just show you the road” 

He chatted amiably with all of them, admiring Zoro’s swords, asking what was a Pirate King (the looks of disbelief said he should know), sharing that he  _ loved _ the ramen here and yeah there was sake, and told them about the village and island in general. They reached the road all too soon and Naruto waved them a goodbye with a grin. He still stood by the opinion that they were cool and not really a danger to the village. 

Still. Just to be safe he made a shadow clone with orders to watch them. He didn’t need a repeat of last time. Especially not now. 

With that he bounced back to the forest, jumping on the branches like only a Leaf ninja could. Back to searching it was. He felt like groaning. It was times like these he dearly wished Kiba or Shino were here, though he wasn’t  _ completely _ sure why he thought that. 

Anyway. Crossed fingers and twenty clones would make him able to cover more ground. 

This was going to be another long day. 

xXXx

“Naruto is a nice kid”, Nami commented as they walked towards the  _ very _ nearby village. 

Zoro just grunted. He’d noticed how he carried himself, though he’d been hiding it well. It was the gait of someone used to fighting. His steps had made next to no sound too. That wasn’t something you trained in an instant. Still, he seemed genuine in all his comments and conversation. 

To be truthful, he'd kind of liked that little guy. 

“Hmm. He looked sad”, Luffy told them out of the blue. 

The swordsman cocked an eyebrow. That seemed odd. He looked cheerful and amazed by the world around him. Kind of like Luffy, really, but more reserved… Maybe his captain had a point. 

They walked into the small-ish village to see that the center was a marketplace. There were all kinds of ingredients lined up, mostly grown on fields or fished. Some duck and pork were on display and it didn’t surprise him that Luffy’s attention immediately went there. 

"Meat!", he drooled with a happy expression and Nami snatched his collar to stop him rushing there that instant. 

"No! We need to manage  _ my _ money properly and  _ that's not helping! _ ", she snapped. 

"Awww", Luffy whined petulantly but bounced right back to his normal cheerful self. 

Zoro tuned them out as he scanned the surroundings, looking for that sake Naruto had promised was being sold. Only for a voice to address him from behind. 

"Excuse me", the tall brunet man said sheepishly, "I couldn't help but notice your swords. Are you any good?" 

This had the swordsman's eyes narrowing as he told the truth, "I am" 

Not at his goal yet but he would be. 

The man's eyes flashed in something like relieved victory. There was some fear in his eyes as he swallowed though. Which was… ominous. 

"Good…", the man licked his lips nervously, "My name is Kai and I and my guys own much of the meat and alcohol products. We would be willing to give them to you for free if you could help us with a problem that requires a good fighter" 

Zoro's eyes didn't show emotion and neither did his face. He didn't have time to think up a response before two slightly  _ un _ welcome voices piped in. 

"Meat?", asked Luffy's. 

"Free?", went Nami's. 

And just like that the swordsman knew they were going to take care of this ‘problem’ one way or another. He wished he could sigh out loud. 

Well, free sake sounded good either way. 

xXXx

Naruto ran through the treetops as fast as he could and reached the other side in seconds. His clones had found it. The big creature that had stolen from the village again and again at night. In fact, it was going towards the village  _ right now _ even though it was still the afternoon. 

He needed to stop it. 

The blond made it just as the creature with long ears and a bear like body snatched something in his teeth and turned towards him. Naruto’s eyes narrowed and stomach dropped as he recognized  _ Sasha’s  _ quilt, the one she’d painstakingly made all through last year and didn’t let him touch. It had been drying outside. 

He gritted his teeth and launched himself at the creature, wishing he had kunai or shuriken or  _ something _ . 

It dodged his high kick but Naruto had already twisted his body to punch its snout with all his strength. ‘All his strength’ was pretty powerful. He’d smashed a small dent in a tree with it. This time it was enough to topple the bear like creature and for it to smack its head to a wall. Hard. 

Naruto winced. It might have been a while since he needed to punch with his  _ full _ strength. That was a dent, alright. Surprisingly, it didn’t knock the bear out though it looked dazed for a second. 

"Let go of Granny Sasha's quilt!", he hissed through his teeth. 

The bear fox thingy growled and swing its paw with more speed than a thing that big should have. Naruto dodged, obviously, like he dodged the next three hits too. They left deep claw marks to the ground and a wall. That too made him wince. 

He needed to get the quilt back. 

Grabbing the thing with both hands he planted his feet to the ground with chakra. That technique had  _ really _ become useful since he learned it a month ago. He didn't want the quilt to rip. So he went ahead and ended the tug of war with a leap and hands clamped around the fox like jaws. 

They struggled for what felt like an eternity before Naruto  _ finally _ got the teeth to open up. Fast as lightning he janked the cloth out and kicked the jaws closed before letting out a blast of killing intent. Something he'd learned scared people and animals away. 

Killing intent had been  _ hard _ to learn since he didn't actually  _ want  _ to kill anyone. But maybe it worked because he  _ would _ do it if he had to. Mindless animals, though, they were easier to kill. If he ate them later that is. And right now he  _ wasn't _ opposed to the idea of  _ eating the thing that stole food and stuff from them.  _

It wasn’t a surprise to him that the creature froze, trembling, before it bolted with a terrified bark. 

Naruto sighed in relief and lifted the quilt up sadly. It was all wrinkled now and had saliva coating it. He was dismayed to find that despite his efforts, it now had a row of teeth marks.  _ Stupid _ thief. Sounds from around the corner didn’t leave him with enough time to flee before a sandy blond man called Taoru saw him. 

He hunched his shoulders at the eyes that flashed with anger and fear and shuffled his feet. 

“Um-”, he started but was cut off with a furious yell. 

“ _ You-! _ ”, Taoru shouted, “I knew it! We should’ve chased you out last time! Now you’ve went and called a demon to do your dirty work” 

Naruto clenched his fists in anger, about to defend himself with words, but the villagers nearby had heard the commotion and came to look at what he’d done  _ now _ . But he hadn’t done  _ anything _ . It hurt. He opened his mouth to retort but choked on his words as Sasha came out. 

“You little  _ demon brat _ what have you  _ done!? _ ”, she shouted in a shrill voice, eyes on the quilt still clenched in his hand. 

He watched, wide eyed, as the villagers gasped and glared. Kids sneered and glowered. Sasha was trembling with rage, eyes clouded with fear. That- That was like a knife to the gut. The only one ever even  _ borderline _ kind to him was… like this. It was too much like Mizuki-sensei had been. Nice and helpful and then only  _ using _ , fearful and furious. 

“I- I didn’t-”, he was cut off again. 

“ _ LIES! _ ”, Kai’s voice roared as the crowd parted to let him through, “We’ve caught you now! You’re not supposed to be at the village this late. You’re not supposed to be here  _ at all! _ ” 

Everyone started shouting. Accusations one after another. The knife  _ twisted _ . He was scared. He was angry. He needed to  _ prove them wrong _ . 

“Shut up _, shut up, SHUT UP!_ ”, he yelled from the bottom of his lungs, chest heaving as he glared at everyone, “I _haven’t._ _done. ANYTHING wrong!_ Stop- _Stop_ looking _at me like that!_ ” 

There was a moment of quiet as everyone  _ stared _ . Coldness. Fear. So  _ familiar _ yet so  _ hurtful _ still. He felt like crying. But he’d long since learned to turn that into strength. 

“I’ll prove it to you”, he vowed, “I, Uzumaki Naruto, will  _ prove to you _ I’m not the one stealing” 

And he fled, leaving the quilt behind, determination coursing through his veins. 

He didn’t notice Luffy standing at the back. 

xXXx

Just a little earlier a conversation took place. 

“Demon fox?”, Nami asked dubiously. 

Luffy’s eyes were sparkling. 

Kai nodded in frustrated anger, “Yes. The foxes it controls have been stealing our food, supplies, and valuables. I’m asking you to catch it and make sure it never does again” 

The orange haired young woman smiled  _ waaaay _ too innocently and chirped, “Okay!” 

She turned to Zoro and Luffy with a gleam in her eyes. 

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the swordsman was now in the forest to look for the demon that could control foxes and the rubber man rushed around the village to find it so he could ask them to join his crew. Nami herself went looking for more supplies and haggling poor stall owners. Luffy was the one to stumble across a gathered mob around a wide alley. It piqued his interest and he wandered over to find out what was going on just to see a familiar blond at the center of it. 

He was just about to walk over to ask what was happening when the boy spoke. 

“I’ll prove it to you”, Naruto told the village defiantly, “I, Uzumaki Naruto, will  _ prove to you _ I’m not the one stealing!” 

And then he ran. Luffy blinked, not having realized the blond was  _ that _ fast, then realized what he’d said and grinned. He liked Naruto. And it looks like they were  _ both _ looking for the sneaky stealing demon fox. The teen immediately ran through the crowd and rushed after, ignoring the brunet man’s cheering to  _ get rid of it already _ . 

How silly. He wanted to know what the demon was like before doing anything! 

“HEEEEEY!”, he shouted and got Naruto to stop on a tree branch and  _ wow _ he was moving like a monkey! But with just his feet! 

Well,  _ he’d _ do it like a  _ real _ monkey. Luffy grinned at the shocked look on the kid’s face when he shot his arm to the branch next to him and flung himself on it. The blond just gaped. There were tears in his eyes though. It made Luffy frown. 

“Eh? Are you crying?”, he asked worriedly. He didn’t want the boy to cry. It was…  _ wrong _ . 

Naruto blinked and raised a hand to his cheek. It came away wet and he furiously rubbed his face with his sleeve before grinning up at the older boy. 

“That was  _ awesome!  _ Your  _ arm _ stretched! How did you do that?”, he asked, hopping over and poking at said arm. 

Not at all worried about the intrusion to his personal space, Luffy laughed. He was happy the blond wasn’t crying anymore. Granted, he was still sad but if acting happy made him okay then he’d let Naruto act happy. 

“I ate a Devil Fruit, Gomu Gomu no Mi! I’m a rubber man now”, he said proudly. 

The blond’s eyes were wide, “A rubber man? How does  _ that _ work?” 

Luffy stretched his cheeks out with both arms and was rewarded with an incredulous laugh from the boy. His eyes were sparkling. But then something occurred to him and he frowned in confusion. 

“Uh… Why’d you follow me?”, he asked. 

The would-be Pirate King’s cheeks snapped back into place but his grin didn’t slip an inch. 

“I wanted to meet the demon fox!” 

Instantly, Naruto hunched and he became guarded. He radiated wariness, mouth pressed in a stubborn line. 

"Who said I was the demon fox? It was Kai, wasn't it", that last one was a resigned statement. 

Luffy's eyes widened in realization and he pointed at the younger boy, shocked. 

" _ You're _ the demon fox!" 

"NO! I'm  _ NOT  _ the stupid demon fox, stupid!!", Naruto snapped angrily. 

"You're not?", Luffy asked, slightly disappointed. 

The blond frantically shook his head, hand unconsciously hovering over his stomach. His companion folded his arms with a pout. 

"Awww. That would've been so cool", then he stared at Naruto accusingly, "If you're not a demon fox what are you!?" 

"A ninja!", the boy yelped out, very much off kilter and out of his element. Who would want to meet a  _ demon fox _ because it sounded  _ cool!? _

Wait, scratch that. He himself definitely would. Nevermind. But… he smiled tentatively. Because.  _ This _ guy had wanted to find a demon fox because it sounded cool. And was disappointed when he  _ didn't _ find one, even if the blond technically  _ did _ have a demon fox sealed inside him. Or at least a nine tailed fox. 

Luffy was looking at him oddly, mouth wide open. There were sparkles. 

_ Uhh… what now? _ , he felt sweat gathering on his brow at the sudden shine his conversation partner's eyes had taken. 

"A ninja!?", hands clamped on his shoulders and that D-shaped grin was  _ way too close _ , " _ JOIN MY CREW!! _ " 

" _ WHAT!? _ " 

Naruto officially didn't understand what was going on. So he did the logical thing and pushed it aside until he had time to deal with it. After all, he had a feeling he had forgotten something. Something important, something he was supposed to- 

"AH!", he shouted in sudden realization, "I still have to catch that fox bear creature!" 

He jumped to the next branch and sped off towards the lead one of his clones had found. Five leaps later he noticed an arm stretching beside him and Luffy following it. The pirate was coming after him, monkey style. His eye twitched. 

"Wait up!", said monkey yelled. 

"Why are you following me!?", Naruto shouted back. 

“You’re gonna find that thief, right?”, was the answer that almost made him faceplant on the next branch but he caught himself just in time. 

He slowed down enough for Luffy and him to be side by side, “You- You  _ believe _ me?” 

The teen gave him a look that said  _ he _ was the idiot here, “Duh!”, then he grinned, “Besides, I wanna see the real demon fox!” 

And then he crashed into a tree trunk with an ‘oomph’. Naruto stopped again with a sweatdrop. 

“You okay?”, he asked. 

“I’m fine”, came the muffled reply before Luffy got his still grinning face (his head  _ bounced _ into place) out of the bark, “I’m made of rubber, remember?” 

The young ninja felt a smile grow on his face. He  _ did _ remember. And boy was it funny on this particular teenager. Though he hadn’t seen something like that power since- since what? Ugh. Whatever. Choji too had some technique that reminded him of it but different. Multi-size or something. 

…Luffy believed him. And would probably follow him no matter what. To be truthful, Naruto didn’t mind. He actually felt grateful. 

Still. His smile gained a mischievous edge. 

“Wanna help me catch the  _ real _ demon fox?”, he asked hopefully. 

He was answered by an equally mischievous laugh and a thumbs up, “You bet! Shishishi!” 

And thus the pirate and the ninja disappeared into the soon-to-be-evening, towards the clearing Naruto found the pawprints at. 

xXXx

Huh? The bear fox thing was just…  _ standing _ there? Naruto frowned, not sure whether he liked this or not. On the other hand, they found it… on the other… 

"Yosh!", Luffy said, a hand on his bicep and ready to throw his fist. 

"Don't hit it yet!", Naruto hissed before jumping down and sneaking around to see what it was doing. 

He stopped straight in front of it and the creature didn’t move an inch, except for breathing. It had a dazed look in its eyes… Which actually reminded him of genjutsu. Was it seeing an illusion? Wait, had it seen an illusion when it attacked!? If that was so then someone was making it see things and- 

There were sounds of footsteps coming closer. 

Naruto immediately dashed towards the tree he’d left Luffy in and ran up its trunk. He hid next to the rubber man and put a finger on his lips in a mark to be silent. Then had to cover the teen’s mouth since he looked a second away from shouting something! Seriously, why- !? 

Oh. He  _ ran up a tree trunk _ , of course Luffy would think it cool. 

“Tch. Is it wearing off?”, someone with a gruff voice asked, “It didn’t bring anything” 

The ninja looked sideways and stiffened, eyes widening. He  _ recognized  _ those guys. Luffy was pawing at his hand with a slightly miffed expression. A little bit apologetic, Naruto released the pirate’s mouth before looking back at the thugs. He was glad Luffy didn’t say anything, both because he wanted to hear what was going on and because he was sure his expression betrayed his apprehension. 

“Calm down, that hypnotist guy told us it’d last two weeks at a time. That stuff is  _ strong _ on animals like this”, a black bearded guy with knives strapped to his tights answered. 

He was right. There was an illusion at play. His fingers curled into fists. 

“Oh yeah? Didn’t he also say that a good hit to the head could release it?”, the bigger guy snarked. 

_ That _ made the knife guy wince… except he still stood his ground, “A good hit that knocks it  _ unconscious _ . Where’s that tall brunet at?” 

The other one grumbled and gave some commands he couldn’t focus on, leading the fox bear out of the clearing and into the shadows. They stayed there, as though waiting for something. 

_ Tall brunet…? No. They can’t mean- _ , his thoughts were cut off by a clone popping in the forest to relay information. It was the clone he’d assigned to follow Luffy and his group. 

Memories filtered through and made his teeth grit in rage.  _ Kai  _ (and wasn’t that funny since ‘kai’ was supposed to shatter illusions). He’d  _ hired _ Luffy, Zoro, and Nami to go after  _ him _ . Well, tough luck with  _ that _ . Kai was also  _ coming here _ . He should’ve known. 

“Who are those guys?”, Luffy wondered next to him, voice quieter than normal but still too loud. 

Naruto twitched before sighing and replying in a whisper, “I beat them up a while back. They were pirates that attacked Wheat Village” 

Then neither had time to talk as Kai stepped through the trees and into the clearing. His smile was self satisfied. 

"Everything is going according to plan", he said to the hiding pirates, "The village believes that demon kid to be the culprit. No one suspects your group" 

_ Group. That means the others are here as well _ , Naruto thought grimly. 

Kai was betraying the village in order to drive  _ him _ away. That- That was just  _ wrong _ . Why would he? Didn't he care that these men had attacked them before? Wait, was that even a coincidence? In light of this Kai might even have worked  _ with _ them that day. 

The pirates  _ had _ been pretty determined to gut him and Kai  _ did _ hate him for some reason. 

"Good. You're sure they'll blame him?", the big bandit asked. 

"Absolutely", Kai confirmed, "Even Sasha is against him now" 

Naruto flinched, gut feeling like it had been punched through. He’d felt this before, though he didn’t  _ really _ know why. The- The feeling of disappointed  _ betrayal _ . A hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to Luffy who had a confident smile on his face. 

"Don't worry. You'll prove them wrong" 

For a second, he was in shock. No one- absolutely  _ no one _ \- had ever said that to him. Not one person had  _ believed _ him without second thought. Luffy’s own declaration of being the King of the Pirates flashed in his mind. Then, slowly, he smiled back. Gratefully. 

“Yeah. I will. Believe it!”, he said in a whisper that got gradually surer. 

Luffy just grinned and patted his shoulder proudly. 

Just then a loud rustle and the crack of branches snapping came from the other side of the clearing. Everyone minus Luffy stiffened. Then… 

A green haired swordsman walked in. 

Which, of course, made Luffy jump down from the tree to greet him.

“Zoro!”

Naruto sighed. There went the attempt at stealth. He looked to the gobsmacked looks on the pirates’ and Kai’s faces and snickered. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. 

“Luffy”, Zoro blinked in slight surprise, “Did you find that demon?” 

The captain promptly pointed at the fox bear a healthy way away from the pirates in the shadows, “They said it had to be knocked out” 

“YOU WERE FOLLOWED!?”, the two pirates roared at Kai. 

“THEY WERE LISTENING!? _ ” _ , Kai roared at exactly the same time. 

“Knocked out, huh?”, Zoro smirked, “I needed a good fight after a trek in this cursed forest” 

“ _ DON’T IGNORE US!! _ ”, the three plotters screamed indignantly. 

It was at that point Naruto saw it fit to jump in right beside Luffy. He was glaring at Kai. 

“I should’ve  _ known _ you would do something like this, Kai!”, he said furiously, “Why do you hate me so much, huh!?” 

“YOU!”, they all shouted, slight panic entering their faces before one of them pointed at them, “Demonic force, attack!” 

That seemed to be some kind of activation phrase as the fox bear snapped his gaze to them and snarled. Then pounced. Straight at Naruto who jumped out of the way and was ready for another attack when Zoro leapt in. 

“I might not know what’s going on…”, he started, drawing one sword out, “…but Luffy says this one needs to be knocked out so I’ll do it! You focus on the thugs!” 

The ninja would have protested but remembered the swordsman wanted a fight. And that fox bear was certainly stronger than the average human. With that he nodded and ran after the fleeing men that Luffy was already chasing. 

“Have fun!”, he called back to Zoro before running  _ past _ the rubber man who had gotten a head start. 

He caught up with the bigger pirate first and tripped the guy into a tree. That knocked him out of the chase and the blond boy could focus on the other two. The one with knives had them drawn and jumped on a rock to face the pursuers. It didn’t help him much. Naruto leapt right in front of him and pushed himself into a backflip, catching the knife arms with his hands and kicking the man’s jaw up. He landed on his feet, twisting the still falling pirate’s wrists  _ just so _ and got the throwing knives to himself. 

It took just about two seconds and he was back to the chase, leaving the unconscious pirate behind. 

Kai was the last one. Naruto pressed his lips together and put on a burst of speed. 

Only to stop in his tracks as he realized where they were. The forest had ended. 

It was the crater. The circle was deep and round and Kai had run right to the center of it. Naruto stayed at the side and the two stared at each other, Kai hatefully and the blond in a kind of desperate confusion. 

"Huh? Why did you stop?", Luffy asked, stopping beside him. 

The blond didn't acknowledge the question, just let a strangled thought escape past his lips, "Why do you hate me, Kai? I get that people are scared 'cause I appeared with the thing that caused  _ this _ but- but you just  _ hate _ me. Why?" 

Kai's expression twisted into something  _ ugly _ . He laughed. A depraved thing that made Naruto shiver because it was directed at  _ him _ . 

"You  _ idiotic brat… _ ", he breathed, " _ YOU CAUSED THIS! _ That stupid pillar of light and noise  _ destroyed this hill!  _ Destroyed _ my PARENTS' GRAVES _ AND THE VILLAGE DARES TO  _ LET YOU STAY!?!? _ " 

The young ninja swayed back, shaking his head. Nobody told him that- that he'd destroyed  _ graves  _ by his sudden appearance in this place. That the hill was a graveyard. A slimmer of guilt passed through him but he stamped it down, sure that Kai would want that to happen. He grit his teeth in directionless anger and sadness. 

"SHUT UP!", Luffy roared, "That's got nothing to do with who Naruto is and  _ HE'S NICE! _ So  _ there! _ " 

Once again, Naruto was speechless. Luffy was… defending him. Actually  _ defending _ him. Even with the childish end, someone was actually speaking up for him with absolute  _ certainty _ that they were right. That  _ he _ , the  _ demon brat _ , was  _ nice _ . 

His thoughts were cut short by laughter. It wasn't the good kind. 

"…ghhaha. Hahaha! GHAHAHAHA!", Kai laughed, "They let scum like  _ you _ stay… and now they'll  _ pay _ for it!" 

Naruto's eyes widened as he stiffened, back ramrod straight and body ready for action. 

"…What did you do?", he asked in horror. 

Screams from the village's direction was the only answer he received. Luffy and him turned to see… a pillar of smoke in the darkening evening. Clear at the village center. The market. 

"Sasha! Everyone!" "The meat! And Nami!", they shouted worriedly and turned to Kai with murderous looks. 

Said man suddenly seemed to be drenched in cold sweat, as though just remembering  _ what _ he was dealing with. 

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" 

"Gomu Gomu no PISTOL!" 

Fifty clones burst into existence just as Luffy's not-completely-serious punch connected with Kai's gut, making him gasp for stolen breath, and knocked the guy out. Two clones ran by to tie him up and carry him with them. He'd be down for the count for the foreseeable future. Then the two and the orange brown army dashed towards the Wheat Village at full speed. 

xXXx

Nami was furious. 

First and foremost at herself for not noticing the attack soon enough. For not being able to _do_ anything. Second was at the _stupid_ bandits that had invaded the village with _loads_ of foxes and were now aiming guns and swords at the surrounded, innocent civilians. Third was at those exact civilians for heaping the blame on a _child_ just because he had some whisker like marks on his cheeks and _loved_ orange. 

She didn’t believe that for a second,  _ especially _ because the adult bandits were  _ trying _ to spread that idea. Which did  _ not _ match the bright boy she had met that afternoon. 

The thief gritted her teeth at another terrified and angry scream from the people, focusing on staying hidden so she could  _ maybe _ free them. Unfortunately, she couldn’t really  _ move  _ from her hiding place since it was the stall with perfumes that masked her scent enough for the controlled foxes to not find her. It didn’t help her temper that the bandits were leisurely securing money and valuable things. 

Like they weren’t even the  _ littlest _ bit worried about their actions. 

“Psst!”, a voice sounded next to her ear and she immediately brandished her bo staff at it. 

She blinked rapidly as she found herself staring at  _ Naruto _ . What was he doing here? If the bandits were talking like this was  _ his _ fault, shouldn’t they have captured him? Or worse? She shuddered. That was one  _ other _ reason she  _ loathed _ these bandits right now. 

“What are you doing here?”, she whispered frantically, “Get out! They could capture you too. Leave this to Luffy, Zoro, and me”, truthfully she didn’t  _ know _ where her traveling companions were. She was prepared to deal with this herself. 

Naruto stared at her oddly before his face broke into a smirk, “Nah. They can’t get me. I’m a ninja! And Luffy’s already here with Boss” 

That made her blink. It was clearly said in her language. She just couldn’t understand it. Ninja? Boss? But Luffy was already here so that- wait, that might be bad! 

“No… Don’t let him do anything! They have the villagers as  _ hostages! _ ”, she whispered, “We need a plan” 

Aaaand now she was subconsciously including a  _ child _ in her  _ rescue attempts _ . Naruto frowned and nodded silently. His mind seemed to go through something before he nodded more firmly and  _ poofed out of existence _ . Nami gaped. What. Just.  _ What _ . 

Then  _ another  _ Naruto jumped out from wherever he had been hiding and landed next to her. 

She only needed another two seconds for her brain to reboot, “Wh- But you- And then-  _ Wha- _ ” 

“Shh!”, the new Naruto whispered, “I’m just a clone. The other one dispelled to relay the need of a plan and to message Boss and Luffy” 

It was at that point Nami decided to just leave the impossibility for now and focus on the situation. There was a hope sparked in her chest now though. The next thing she was about to say was cut short by a shout and by Naruto blinking rapidly in confusion. 

“Captain!”, one bandit called out and ran up to the man in charge. 

“Hm? What’s the problem?”, there was some annoyance laced in his tone. 

“The prisoner got away!” 

“What!?” 

There was a flurry of panic at the enemy lines and Nami assessed this information even as the Naruto next to her had his eyes going glassy… before he sighed heavily, exasperated and slightly amused. Going over what she knew about the new impossibility in her life the navigator’s mouth dropped open. Everything clicked. 

“Another of your clones was playing prisoner?”, she asked. 

The blond started before nodding, wide eyed. 

“How did  _ you _ know?”, he asked curiously, “ _ I _ didn’t know until he popped. He was supposed to be searching the forest!” 

Nami took  _ that _ tidbit in with an inward sigh and smirked, “I’m smart. You can make clones that give you memories, they needed to have you prisoner to blame you without worry of discovery, and your reaction just now” 

Her little deduction was met with shock and admiration. With blue shining sparkle eyes. It was… somewhat familiar. On the face of Luffy. Nami felt warm at the knowledge she could get that kinds of reactions with her brainpower. 

“Can you do something to get the villagers away from the foxes and bandits? Or the other way around?”, she asked seriously. 

The blond thought for a moment before replying, “Uh. They're looking for me, right? I could give them a chase. There’s fifty of me right now but Boss can make more… and we  _ do _ have that smoke bomb tag, and the knives. I can switch places with people or things from a distance too” 

He pointed to the throwing knives he was holding in a waist pouch. Nami took a moment to get over the number of  _ clones _ this boy had at his disposal, along with the switching thing that sounded suspiciously like  _ teleportation _ , and counted the idea as something usable. Going over her… much less impressive skill set and Luffy’s probable inability to follow  _ any _ plan except ‘fight until you win’ and Zoro being nowhere to be found… As much as she hated to admit it, Naruto’s skills sounded like the best option to use if they wanted no one to get hurt. 

“Okay”, she said, “I’ve got a plan” 

xXXx

“Wait, Luffy. My clones found Nami, and the villagers could get hurt if we attack now”, Naruto said to the straw hat teen as they landed on a rooftop. 

The pirate captain stopped and turned to him, eyes lightning up. 

"Is Nami okay?", he asked. 

Naruto smiled at the clear desire to keep his crew safe. Somehow that wasn't what came to mind when he thought the word 'pirate'. 

"Yeah, she's fine. Just hiding like my clones. She also said we need a plan" 

Luffy grinned, "Your clones are so cool! Can I make one?" 

The ninja was  _ so _ not used to people praising his techniques. He  _ was _ sure that teaching shadow clones to someone with less chakra than he had was  _ not _ a good idea and he had  _ a lot _ . He wasn't even sure if people here  _ had _ chakra or not. 

"Uhh, no. It's just like I can't stretch like you do" 

"Oh. That's okay then" 

He smiled before blinking rapidly as new memories from one of his clones assaulted him. Something he wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t trained himself to dig the information out once he remembered that, yeah, he  _ did _ get the memories. 

_ Tree hopping, the pirates after Boss started the chase, accidentally-on-purpose got caught, listening for information, needed as a prisoner for  _ something _ not sure what, oh no screams, inform Boss…  _

Yeah, okay. He had  _ not _ known one of his clones got caught. One of the problems with them. Only a way for the creator give kind-of-commands, no way to get it back unless the chakra construct was destroyed or dispelled itself. But that meant…

“No…”, he said out loud, dismayed, “They attacked the village now because- because they thought they caught me. It  _ is _ my fault…” 

A fist plonked him on the head and Naruto yelped, glaring up at a frowning Luffy. How come his body recognized the straw hat teen as safe? He just met him! 

“What was that for!?” 

“Not your fault! It’s the bad pirates that attacked,  _ not _ you!”, the older boy stated stubbornly, mouth pressed into a line. 

For a moment, Naruto stayed entirely still, blue eyes locked on the pirate as he tried to figure him out. From the first meeting onward, Luffy had left him feeling like he  _ mattered _ . Like he didn’t  _ have _ to fight for his place in the world. Proving it that there might be people who  _ accepted _ him out there. He was accepted by this stranger even while an entire village saw him as an outcast. 

And he allowed himself to smile and take the older boy’s words to heart. 

“Okay. Not my fault. But still happening and we need to stop it!”, he decided at last. 

Just in time, since the new clone with Nami dispelled itself to relay a plan. And the plan  _ did _ sound pretty good. The smile turned into a predatory grin. 

“And Nami came up with the perfect plan” 

xXXx

A green haired swordsman was seriously contemplating cutting the forest down. He’d been walking around for  _ ages _ since he knocked the fox demon creature out. It had been an okay fight. Not the best he’d been in but not the easiest either. The creature had been  _ very _ good at standing up again even after serious slices and strikes from the flat of his blades. 

He hadn’t wanted to  _ kill _ it after all. 

The woods were a pain though. He’d come across the same knocked out fox bear demon  _ twice _ now. Zoro swore it was the forest messing with him. He might not be so annoyed if he wasn’t so sure he was missing out on all the action. 

Just then a familiar blond dropped in front of him. 

“Finally found you!”, he sighed in relief and pointed behind himself, “C’mon, this way. We’re starting the plan soon” 

Zoro raised an eyebrow as he followed the running kid. He was one fast little bugger. 

“What plan?” 

Naruto blinked, “Oh, right. There are pirates on the island and took the village hostage. Basically, I distract them and free the villagers while you and Luffy take ‘em out. Sound good?” 

Yes. It did sound pretty good to the swordsman. He’d been getting frustrated with the trees for a while. It’d be good to fight something right about now. 

“Lead the way, kid”, he smirked. 

The kid grinned at him before seeming to remember something, “Oh, yeah. Don’t be alarmed but Boss, that’s the real me, can clone himself. I’m a clone” 

No one could fault him for the stumble  _ that _ information caused. 

“ _ What? _ ”, he demanded, righting himself. 

Naruto just laughed, sheepish, and said, “I’m a ninja”, as if it explained everything. 

Then again, his captain was a rubber man and they had fought a clown that could chop himself to pieces that fly. Nevermind. Still. This was bound to be  _ interesting _ . 

xXXx

Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, freeing the hostages was  _ easy _ . 

One smokebomb he’d crafted all by himself and the seventy-eight clones could swap themselves with the villagers, panicking pirates and hypnotized foxes or no. Kawarimi, Replacement, made them a  _ little _ dizzy though and Nami had her work cut out for her calming them down since foxes were  _ everywhere _ . They hurled accusations at  _ him _ but were forced to shut up by Nami and Naruto’s clones. 

Nami, because she fingered her staff menacingly for daring to even  _ think _ that. Clones, because they were clearly  _ protecting them _ from the foxes, knocking them out and carrying them to a pile. There wasn’t more than twenty or so though (supposedly the mass attacking force was the fox bear Zoro knocked out). All the while Luffy and Zoro pummeled the pirate crew with the  _ real _ Naruto. 

“Hmm, those clones are a useful trick”, the swordsman muttered and the blond didn’t understand how it came out so  _ clear _ around his sword. Probably practice. 

“Totally-”, one Naruto said from the clearing smoke. 

“-one of my  _ best _ -”, another continued. 

“-techniques-”

The real Naruto picked it up, punching a pirate unconscious, “ _ -EVER! _ ” 

“Hahahaha! You guys are funny!”, Luffy laughed, dodging someone’s swing lazily before knocking them over the head. 

They stayed down. Boy, were the pirates surprised to find their hostages were  _ all _ swapped with a blond cheekily grinning ninja kid. Their cries of outrage and shock had been music to his ears. 

Anyway. It didn’t take long for the three to wipe them out. Like, Naruto had taken them all a year ago with only one bigger wound that healed right up. Compared to that takedown this was downright  _ lazy _ . None could even  _ hit _ them. Let alone escape the line of clones that had taken place to shout encouragement and cheer them on, keeping the bad pirates inside the market. 

Only a bit over five minutes later every pirate turned bandit (kinda, since they were almost always ashore at a cave thingy  _ no one _ knew existed) (interrogation had been  _ easy _ and didn’t need violence) rounded up and taking the place of hostages. Except they were more like prisoners. 

“That should do it!”, Naruto declared to the village cheerily, “No more pirates hypnotizing foxes and other creatures to mess with you!” 

He only wilted a little bit when just half of them looked guilty, apologetic, and relieved. The other part was still wary, scared, and had  _ those eyes _ . Sasha wasn’t one of them to his relief. Her gaze was soft and full of grief, heartbreaking sadness. That… That might be worse. He shifted his feet, not sure how to fix it. 

“Oi, Boss!”, one clone shouted, carrying a wiggling Kai on his shoulder. One of the seven clones (the others guarded prisoners) that did  _ not _ dispel after the win, “I brought the traitor” 

The blond gave a thumbs up, “Good. Let’s let the village know what he’s been doing under our noses” 

_ This _ at least proved his innocence. Though many didn’t like it. Especially Kai’s gang. Who were clearly being ostracized by the other villagers now that it came to light Kai was making  _ deals _ with the thieves to  _ especially _ target Naruto. Soon the village leader came forward and bowed. 

“We owe you a big apology, young Uzumaki. On the behalf of this village, I apologize and declare you unjustly found guilty of crimes you did not commit. As such you are welcome to live here once more should you want to” 

Some gasps were heard from the crowd but they were drowned out by cheers. Sasha was smiling sadly. She walked up to him, quilt in hand, and draped it over his shoulders. Naruto stood still in stunned shock. There was still just a hint of wariness behind Sasha’s eyes but it was overshadowed by content happiness and that sliver of grief. 

“You have earned it, Naruto. I made it in remembrance of my son, whose grave rested on that hill. I’m sorry I have not treated you as I should have. Not when you resemble him so much”, she told him in a low voice, brushing a gentle hand on his cheek. 

The blond ninja stared up at her in silent shock before smiling and pulling the quilt closer, leaning into her touch, “I forgive you, Sasha-obaasan” 

He turned to look at the village and swallowed. It… He was happy they welcomed him, or most of them did, but… It wasn’t home. Not like Konoha had been. He’d known it this whole time. He wanted out, to search for a way  _ home _ . Back to his precious people. If they were still there. And he  _ thought _ he’d found a way to start searching. 

Grand Line. Nami had said that the Grand Line was a mysterious place and he had a feeling he’d find at least  _ something _ there. 

“I… Thank you. For the offer, I mean. But I've been remembering more and more about where I came from. I’d like to find it. My real home. It’s been my dream this whole time”, he told everyone, “Thank you for letting me stay on the island these past two years but I think I’ll be leaving now” 

“Of course”, Wheat Village’s leader, or mayor, smiled encouragingly, “I think we can spare one of our boats and give supplies-” 

“NO!”, Luffy interrupted and got everyone to turn to him, Zoro, and Nami, “Naruto is joining my crew to chase his dream!” 

The people were shocked to a stunned silence that was only interrupted by Nami hitting the captain over the head. It looked like it didn’t do a thing. 

“ _ IDIOT! _ DON’T GO RECRUITING TWELVE-YEAR-OLDS!”, she shouted in his ear, “IT’S TOO DANGEROUS FOR HIM!” 

“He just rescued an entire village from pirates. Almost single handedly, I might add”, Zoro drawled before smirking, “Besides, I like the kid” 

“NOT YOU TOO!!”, Nami paused for a moment in her yelling, “…He  _ is _ a good kid though. And those clones of his are amazing…”, her eyes turned more calculating and had a suspiciously golden gleam to them. 

Naruto watched the argument unfold with wide and uncomprehending eyes. His attention was on Luffy though, who watched him seriously. Stubbornly. Like he would go through hell and high water to get him on his crew. To help him if needed. And they were going to the Grand Line. To see  _ all _ of it and get the One Piece. If they didn’t find his home there, at the ocean of possibilities, then they wouldn’t at all. 

He  _ wanted _ him, wanted _ Naruto _ , on his crew.  _ Him _ . A random kid with some ninja tricks and amnesia. Someone who a whole  _ two _ villages had hated and feared. 

“You… want  _ me _ … on your crew?”, it came out faint, like he wasn’t really  _ there _ . 

Luffy grinned, “Of course!” 

Time seemed to slow down. He… he was wanted here. Luffy wanted him with them and thought him cool. Zoro  _ liked him _ . Nami thought he was a good kid and obviously thought his abilities useful. That’s… That’s all he’d really needed, ever. Someone to acknowledge him, to like him. Be  _ there _ for him. And now it was being handed to him freely. Friendship. Acceptance. Something he had always needed to  _ fight _ for. 

Tears of happiness stung his eyes as a wide grin rivaling Luffy’s spread on his lips. 

“YES!”, he shouted and launched himself at the straw hat teen, the quilt fluttering behind him like a long cape. 

Luffy laughed as he caught the boy who clung to him in a too-tight hug that  _ would _ have crushed someone’s lungs if not for the fact that they were  _ rubber _ . One arm held the Naruto-limpet in place as he threw his right fist into the air. 

“WOOHOO! WE GOT OURSELVES A NINJA!” 

That cheer of success would linger in the blond’s happiest memories for the rest of time. 

xXXx


	2. Bushy Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting sail, meeting a bush man, and some shenanigans on boats.

They didn’t leave immediately. There was a small party the next day before that,  _ finally _ getting some repairs for the gravesite that had only housed four graves courtesy of prompting from Naruto, and the village gratefully provided supplies to them. Especially him. Though some looked rather sour about it. Others apologized and a little girl, Sinue, came and hugged him. That last one left him shocked and happy. Not many had  _ ever _ hugged him. He didn’t remember anyone other than the Third Hokage when he was small. And Iruka-sensei  _ did _ hug him once or twice but  _ he _ usually initiated it. 

Nami’s goodwill towards the villagers drained some more when she saw where he’d been living. It was a hut he had more or less built himself. The walls were a little rotten and the roof hadn’t  _ been _ there when he’d gotten it. Now it was covered with branches and dried moss that were damp from the last time it rained. 

His stuff was hidden in a nearby cave system that was too small for anyone but him to get into. Even if they did they wouldn’t get to it. Pranksters made for  _ excellent _ trap masters. Who knew? 

Anyway. He’d gotten lots of little trinkets over the last two years. Tools that he’d had fun learning to use, metal that he wanted to melt and shape into kunai and shuriken, some wires and ropes that were better than nothing but not ninja quality, clothes, plain cloth and some animal skins, paint, brushes and pens, tons of paper and the one giant scroll he’d had on him when he… appeared. He’d yet to open it and not for lack of trying. Not that he’d gone to  _ desperate _ measures yet. 

Granted there were food items, snacks, and stuff like beautiful bird feathers or seashells. His cooking things and sleeping bag were in the hut, along with his bucket of fresh water that he filled again every other day. There weren’t weapons except for the kitchen knives and they were just that: kitchen knives. Oh wait, he  _ did _ have his two new throwing knives he pilfered from the pirates. 

Either way, everything was pretty easily sorted into the big backpack the village gave him along with  _ instant ramen _ that he hadn’t had in  _ ages! _ …Meaning three weeks ago. 

He rolled Sasha’s quilt up gently and put it on top with one leather strap. Then he rushed out and grinned up at the three he’d be sailing,  _ living _ , with from now on. 

“I’m ready!”, he exclaimed but then remembered something, “Wait, no. Not yet” 

He climbed vertically up a tree and let out a loud whistle. It didn’t take long for Bluey to appear and land on his head. She tweeted. Naruto chuckled. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m leaving, you know! To become a pirate and look for my home!”, he told her. 

She twittered and pecked his head, jumping off to land on his shoulder. 

“Eh? With me? To the next island?” 

Another peck. 

“Ow! Okay, okay. Let’s go!” 

He climbed down and grinned at everyone. Nami’s expression was caught between disbelief, exasperation, and amusement. Luffy was definitely amused if his snickering was any indication. Zoro looked uninterested, if slightly bemused. Bluey let out another tweet that made Naruto blink. 

“Uh. Okay? She says we should take that fox bear creature with us. He’s from the island she wants to go to and got taken by pirates” 

“Really? Let’s do it then!”, Luffy decided. 

_ Did he even think about it? _ , Naruto thought, sweatdropping. 

Zoro looked much more interested now, “You can understand animals?” 

The blond sheepishly rubbed his head. 

“Not… exactly. I can understand  _ some _ animals. Because some of them have…”, he trailed off, not sure  _ what _ was causing it but sure that he  _ should _ know, “…chakra?”, which was  _ partly _ correct. Probably. 

No,  _ everyone _ had chakra. Every _ thing _ had chakra. So the bird had some special chakra? Maybe? Eh. He’d remember when he remembered. 

“Chakra?”, Nami asked curiously as they started walking. 

“It’s what I use to do my ninja tricks”, he told her simply, “My chakra is a part of me. Like my blood. I’d die without it. Or so Sakura… said… huh. She became a medic-nin” 

The kid’s eyes turned faraway as he thought of his friend and kinda crush-turned-teammate. This new flash of memories rushed in to fill some more gaps. It did nothing to the gaping hole that was his memory but he did gain some. This time he’d been sixteen. Not sure what had really happened to  _ de _ age him but something evidently had. That much he’d found out by now. 

“Naruto?”, Luffy called out, waving a hand in front of his face. 

He gave a sheepish smile, “Sorry. Just got some memories back” 

Collective blink, then a head tilt, “Memories?” 

“Oh. I lost my memory when I arrived here with a big flash of light. It created that crater”, he ignored the looks of shock and Luffy’s neutral understanding, “Been getting it back piece by piece. My friend, Sakura, was-  _ is- _ a medic… I hope I can find her again. And Sasuke-teme, I suppose” 

Everyone walked in silence for a bit. Then  _ Zoro _ of all people ruffled his hair, making him squawk indignantly and look up to the grinning swordsman. Though it looked a bit like a smirk. 

“You’re a good kid”, he said, sounding proud for some reason, “You’ll find them. We’ll help. Right, Captain?”

“Shishishishi! Of course!” 

Nami sighed, exasperated and just the slightest bit fond, “I’ll help too, so long as I can” 

And Naruto didn’t remember anyone helping him this readily, apart from his team and that had taken a bit of time. A fight against Sasuke, a serious one turned playful, before they could look at each other and say they were friends. Best of friends, brothers, though they’d never admitted that to anyone but themselves. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura knew and Shikamaru probably guessed. 

He smiled, “Thanks. I’ll help you guys if you need it. I never go back on my word!”

It was a promise. These were good people, good  _ pirates _ if you’d believe it, and he was now a part of them. After what he’d seen he believed in Luffy’s dream and knew the teen would be redefining what the word ‘pirate’ meant. That was good too. Naruto wanted to be there to see it. 

xXXx

“So, how did you guys even meet?”, Naruto asked sometime on the boat, eyeing the strange big nosed skull on the sail, “And why’s that a clown?” 

_ How didn't I  _ see  _ that before? _ , the ninja wondered. 

He wasn’t prepared for the absurd, and hilarious, story that started with Luffy wanting to eat a bird that grabbed the rubber man’s head and carried him to Orange Town. Where he got dropped in front of Nami and got tricked by her. And he and Zoro beat Buggy the Clown’s crew. It all had Naruto rolling on the floor of the boat, laughing his head off. 

Zoro joining up was similarly chaotic and hilarious and the ninja had to wonder how many amazing adventures  _ he _ would get pulled into with Luffy and his crew. 

The fox bear was napping next to the swordsman. It was strange since the swordsman beat him up in the first place. Then again, that kinda meant he freed the creature from genjutsu, or hypnosis as they called it here. Bluey was preening herself while sitting comfortably on her fellow animal’s head. Nami was reading some old newspaper and looked up every once in a while to assess the weather and contribute to the conversation. Naruto was trying out his new throwing knives on the mast with Luffy watching happily. It was kinda peaceful. 

Fun too. But peaceful. 

Oh, and Zoro had apparently  _ been hurt the whole time _ but he still fought at the island. A stab wound. To the  _ gut _ . Naruto shuddered at the thought of Sakura finding out. The reprimands would never end if those two met. One always getting hurt and fighting and the other always healing the damage and knowing exactly where to hurt so you weren’t  _ actually _ hurt. It would be Kakashi-sensei and hospitals all over again. 

That said, it didn’t take long to reach the next island. 

He helped the fox bear to land as Zoro slept on in the boat. So it was just him, Luffy, and Nami to see Bluey and the fox off. She preened a few strands of Naruto’s hair in a goodbye and flew off. 

“Talk to the news coos! I bet you’ll hear about me from them soon enough!”, he shouted after her, an oddly wistful pang in his heart. 

A bright chirp of agreement from far away was his answer. He sighed. He knew he’d probably never see her again. It was… sad. But she wanted to be here. And he wanted to go. So it was what it was. A hand landed on his head and he looked up at Luffy in confusion. 

"She'll be fine", he told him, grinning widely, "Let's explore now!"

"Yeah!", Naruto cheered and they started walking deeper into the woods. 

Nami sighed and followed after them. They came across very strange animals that Naruto and Luffy found fascinating and Nami confusing. It became clear that this was the fox bear's home island when looking at them. And then Luffy got shot. And was very much immune to bullets. After that they found a bush man trapped in a box. No, a  _ treasure chest _ . Apparently he'd gotten stuck there twenty years ago. 

"So you've been guarding the treasure and the animals? No wonder Bluey wanted to come", Naruto commented, admiring Gaimon's tenacity and clear care for the island's inhabitants. 

The blond kinda liked the old man. He reminded him of someone back home. Someone named… Gai-something? Or just Gai? Thick eyebrows and too-bright teeth came to mind. And a mini clone. Which,  _ what?  _

There was no need to even ask them for help.  _ Of course _ they would help him get the treasure after  _ twenty years _ of waiting and protecting. Only, when Luffy and Naruto got to the top of the hill the treasure was on and opened the chests to see… they were empty. The ninja frowned sadly. This had been the guy's dream for so long… To no longer  _ have _ it would be  _ crushing _ . Gaimon and Nami shouted about dropping the chests already. Luffy seemed to have decided not to do it to save the man's feelings. 

His hand found the new throwing knives hidden in a pouch and he blinked. He drew one out to stare at it, contemplative. 

He was struck by some sort of memory-not-really-memory. He saw shapes and made connections faster than he thought he could and before he knew it he had drawn the shape into the ground, fingertip glowing with chakra. He was overwhelmed for a second before shaking his head and knowing exactly what to do. He looked around and found a reddish brown and grey rock which he put on the… thing. Biting his thumb he spread blood across it and with a puff of smoke and light and slight grinding noise he had condensed earth into a weapon. In front of him was a slightly rough around the edges but still smooth and clean knife that gleamed in the sun. 

It was hot. Like someone just pulled it out of a fire. But there hadn't been fire. 

He'd made a complex symbol filled array on the ground and gotten a purified crystal  _ knife _ out of it. Naruto was  _ overwhelmed _ . But didn't show it in anything other than the slight tremble in his fingers. 

"Luffy", he said in a low voice and got the pirate to turn to him, "I've got something for Bushy Guy" 

Luffy, who had just revealed to Gaimon and Nami that there was nothing in the chests, looked at the brown-ish knife made wholly of one material and grinned. 

"Ooh! Naruto found something!" 

He  _ hadn't _ . He'd  _ made _ it. Naruto was about to correct Luffy but paused and closed his mouth. This worked better. If everyone believed it was already there then it wouldn't be seen as a 'consolation gift'. Or something equal to that effect. Then there  _ had _ been treasure up here the whole time. In fact, Naruto  _ had _ made it from the rock sitting next to the chests so… Technically it  _ was _ here all those years. 

The blond grinned and promptly poured some water on it from a canteen to cool it down, then dried it on his sleeve. Now it was a more normal temperature. He hopped down from the rock next to Luffy, who had piled the empty chests at the bottom of the hill. 

"Here, Bushy Guy!", he said and gave the knife to Gaimon. 

It was funny how the old man's eyes lit up at the sight as he carefully took the blade and ran calloused fingers over it. Naruto was a little embarrassed at how reverently his gift, a knife he  _ made _ , was handled. Nami leaned in curiously and looked it over with a critical eye and now Naruto felt like  _ he _ was being scrutinized. 

"Huh. It's made of stone. Though I have no idea  _ how _ that would've been made. It's too  _ clean _ for hammerwork, even with the roughness", there was a greedy look steadily entering her eyes, "I bet you could get a hefty sum for it if only for the unique technique!" 

Naruto definitely felt like he should find out if he could make more. If only out of self-preservation. 

Wait. He could make knives out of stone and… he kinda remembered how to do it too. And if he switched  _ that _ part out to  _ this _ he could make it with metal! Then some adjustments to the chakra output and the 'mold' so to speak and he'd have kunai! Actually, this felt like something he'd done quite often once he'd figured out how. 

Which was…  _ cool! _ He could remake his weapons! 

"This treasure's  _ mine _ , girlie!", Gaimon said sternly and Nami laughed sheepishly. 

It wasn't long until they departed. Naruro got to say one final goodbye to Bluey and got Bushy Guy to promise he'd take care of her. To which Bluey protested that she'd take care of herself. 

xXXx

Naruto stared at his scroll in silence. He… kinda knew what to do now. The boy bit his thumb again and spread blood on the seal that was blocking it, which lit up in brilliant blue light before fading. He took a breath and opened the first part of the scroll. More sealing symbols stared back at him. 

_ Storage seals _ , his mind told him,  _ I designed them _ . 

He directed chakra to his fingertip and unlocked the one on the right. Stacks of paper poofed into existence, along with an ink bottle with a seal at the bottom. A seal that let the bottle refill on its own so long as you'd put more ink there beforehand. He  _ knew _ that. He even knew how it worked. 

_ Fuinjutsu is  _ my _ specialty.  _

He felt a smile spreading on his face. This was gonna be  _ awesome _ . 

xXXx

_ Splash! _

A gasp of air and a few good kicks had him on their slowly moving boat again, climbing on and trying again. He put his bare foot on the water slowly, carefully, and tried to get it right. Chakra gathered at his soles but he must've been doing  _ something _ wrong since he couldn't stay afloat. 

_ Splash! _

Under again. This was the problem of only getting glimpses and impressions of being able to do something but not actually  _ doing  _ it. He knew he  _ could _ . The problem was  _ how _ . 

"Naruto, what are you  _ doing? _ ", Nami asked, annoyance lacing her tone. 

He yelped as he fell in again, concentration broken by the interruption, swimming up and on board again, "Gah! Can't you see I'm trying to figure out how to walk on water?" 

Luffy perked up from his perch at the front, "You can walk on water?" 

"There's no way", Nami refuted, "No matter how you look at it, surface tension isn't enough to let people  _ walk _ on it" 

Naruto threw a glare her way, muttering about how he'd show her but not audiably enough to hear. 

"Aww…", the straw hat boy sounded disappointed but then remembered something, "But Naruto is a ninja! He can figure it out!" 

The blond blinked at the sudden faith in him. It was… unfamiliar but at the same time freeing and lighthearted. He liked it. The grin that spread on his face was determined and free of worries. 

"I will! Believe it!", he said, trying again… and promptly falling in. 

This time droplets splashed on a napping Zoro and he opened his eyes, narrowing them on the kid, " _ Stop  _ that!" 

"I'm training, I can't", Naruto replied stubbornly. 

"Do it somewhere else" 

"No. You're just jealous" 

" _ You brat! _ ", the swordsman lurched over to grab at him, making Naruto yelp. 

Nami bonked them both over the head when Zoro succeeded in dragging the struggling ninja aboard, dripping wet and in his plain underwear. Her brow was twitching. 

" _ Idiots!  _ Don't rock the boat or you'll capsize! We're going now", she then marched over to her own stolen one and started getting ready to sail away. 

Luffy whooped and started setting their sail up too, Zoro and Naruto sulkily joining him. They'd had to teach everything to the ninja as he hadn't stepped on any boat until the day they found him. Zoro said Luffy had been the same way so it wasn't  _ that _ unusual. They still sulked with goose egg shaped bumps on their heads while doing it. 

"Nami hits too hard", the blond boy muttered. 

The swordsman only grunted in agreement. 

They set towards their destination where they'd hopefully be able to get a bigger and sturdier ship for their travels. Nami had been the one to point out how little they actually had to survive in the Grand Line, a place that Bushy Guy had referred to as a pirate graveyard. That sounded… well, bad. But also awesome. 

Naruto couldn't wait! 

Though first, the ship. And getting the stupid water walking down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have decided to keep this as a longer story and will try to update it alongside my Eternal Cycle series. 
> 
> Although, I'll have you know that I'm still focused more on that at the moment so updates will be slow. If I don't update for around a year I will most likely post the plans for the whole fic as the last chapter, as has become my sort of personal rule. I don't really want to leave people hanging for ages on end... 
> 
> With that out of the way, hopefully you liked this chapter! Tell me what you think and ideas for future arcs are welcome! I'm hopelessly lacking in those at the moment with only some notes jotted down.


	3. Gecko Islands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting Usopp and finding out there's another less well-known liar in town. You all know it's always the butler!

There were four people spying on them once they got to land. When Zoro pointed them out three of them, the little kids, ran away. Naruto watched curiously as the older boy jumped out of his hiding place and declared himself Captain Usopp, leader of a pirate fleet that would attack if they attacked. He grinned when he heard the word army and stepped forward, a thumb pointed at himself. 

"Hey, hey, I've got an army too!" 

Usopp gasped dramatically, "You're lying!" 

"Am not!"

Nami stared at Usopp blandly, " _ You're _ lying" 

"Gah, s- she knows!", the darker skinned man yelped, accidentally exposing himself as a liar. 

Luffy started laughing at him and the liar turned on the defensive, telling them not to underestimate him. Naruto was grinning at his flailing, amused by the man who seemed to tell tall tales as he reminded him of Konohamaru. Not that Konohamaru was a liar but he tended to exaggerate his own heroics quite often. 

He then realized the thought was new. Konohamaru… that was the brat who wanted to learn his Sexy Jutsu to defeat Hokage-jiji, wasn't he? Huh. He must've come to know him quite well later. 

Anyway, Luffy's charisma and Usopp's curiosity regarding them had the teenager leading the four pirates towards his village to eat. Naruto gravitated to Usopp and asked him things, partly to see if he'd get a lie or a truth and partly because he had taken a liking to him. Maybe because of the reminder. Maybe because of something else. 

That's how he got a lot of general info about the Syrup Village. And the names of the three kids who had run away. Tamanegi, Ninjin, and Piiman. Onion, carrot, and pepper respectively. How weird. But then,  _ his _ name could mean a swirly ramen topping. 

They got to the town's restaurant and Luffy predictably ordered meat. Naruto was disappointed there wasn't ramen. He craved his favorite food… 

Nami, and partly Luffy, divulged their goals to Usopp and got some news. 

"A ship and crewmates, huh…", the liar mused, "The only place that owns a bigger ship is a mansion a little ways off the village. Although, the owner is a frail young woman who spends most of her days in bed", his eyes turned thoughtful and experienced as he folded his arms, leaning back, "The rich aren't immune to grief either…" 

Naruto was inclined to agree. But he was also unsure of whether the mansion owner would give the ship to anyone, let alone  _ pirates _ . Nami seemed to ponder that too. Luffy just asked for more meat. He sweatdropped. The glutton. 

Then Usopp said he'd join them if they let him be captain. 

"No thanks", the pirate crew of four chorused. 

After talking and eating a little more Naruto was getting bored. Then Usopp said something about time and left mysteriously. The blond looked after him, curious. 

"I'm going out to explore!", he declared to his crew (still weird to think about) and jumped out of his seat. 

Zoro snorted, disbelieving, "Don't scare him too much" 

Naruto elected to ignore the remark. Well, not completely. He stuck his tongue out before leaving. 

He rushed outside and bumped into the group of three kids that were Usopp's little pretend pirate crew. They didn't have time to scream in terror even though they seemed to want to because Naruto rushed past them speedily. 

"Hi guys, bye guys!", the ninja greeted and left them standing there, shocked. 

Tamanegi, Ninjin, and Piiman traded shaky looks, "S- So fast!" 

"How are we supposed to beat the adults!?" 

"Don't give up! We need to rescue Captain Usopp!"

Naruto was amused they hadn't seen their 'Captain' running in the distance but he left the kids in his dust and couldn't hear more of their shouts. He was kinda sorry he would miss the hilariousness that would result in the kids meeting his friends. But then he remembered how stir crazy it was to stay still after so long on a boat and was sure he made the correct choice. 

xXXx

He caught up when Usopp was sneaking over the wall surrounding the mansion. The ninja just straight up walked after him, hopping to the other side of the wall seamlessly and soundlessly. Usopp was already sitting by a tree talking to a pale young woman. About a giant goldfish he supposedly bested. Definitely made up. He frowned. Why would he lie like-

The girl was smiling. Oh. Naruto grinned and idly hid behind the tree Usopp was leaning against to listen. 

"-the feces were so big and long I thought it was an island and actually docked there-", he explained animatedly. 

Gradually Naruto drifted next to him, grinning mischievously at the girl as he plopped down next to the tale absorbed Usopp. She smiled as she saw him put a finger to his lips and didn't say anything, listening to the tale. Then when the brown skinned young man came to the most dramatic part of the tale, the fight, Naruto piped up. 

"If you stood on the tail but the fish took a dive how did you hold on?", he asked. 

Usopp's sentence turned into a shocked screech mid-word and he scrambled back from the sudden interruption, "HYAA-ah?  _ Naruto!? _ " 

The ninja held up his hand, "Yo!" 

The girl at the window giggled into her hand, delighted. Usopp stared between them. 

"Kaya, why didn't you say something!", he demanded. 

"S-sorry, Usopp-san!", the girl, Kaya, giggled between words, "He wanted to surprise you" 

Naruto's mischievous grin was on, "I tried to be quiet since you said your hearing is as good as a bat's"

The long nosed youth was instantly back on his seat with a self important expression and a solemn nod, "Ahem. Of course. You have improved on your sneaking, my disciple" 

"I'm a ninja" 

"Ninja apprentice, then", he corrected himself. 

"I already graduated" 

" _ Ninja apprentices _ should listen to their master!" 

"You're not my sensei!" 

Kaya was done giggling and had gone to a full blown laughter. Usopp glanced at the window, looking proud of his work. Naruto smiled too, dropping the playful argument. Instead he asked what happened next. Usopp startled, having forgotten, but continued telling the story easily enough. It became a game to spot inconsistencies in the story, which Usopp was forced to cover up with more tall tales. 

Some time later Naruto heard voices outside the tall fence around the mansion. Familiar voices and high pitched ones from children. 

“Oh”, he said out loud, “Luffy and the others are here” 

“Huh? How would you kno-”, Usopp’s sentence was cut off as he whipped to stare at Luffy jumping over the gate with his pretend pirate crew and Naruto’s crewmates. 

The ninja jumped up with a big grin and a wave, “Hi guys!” 

“Naruto! Is she the mansion owner?”, Luffy pointed towards Kaya. 

The girl was startled, “I am...” 

“Great! I’ve got a request!”, he stated. 

“A request?”, Kaya asked, smiling slightly, “Of me?” 

“Yeah! We need a big ship!”, Luffy spread his arms wide to indicate the size, thankfully not doing something mind blowing like stretching them. 

Unfortunately, a loud shout from the direction of the door carried over to them right then. A butler. Someone Kaya called Klahadore. Who demanded them to leave. Naruto’s face scrunched up, eyes squinted in displeasure. He sounded condescending and like the villagers who had stared him with disdain. 

Usopp was inching away, trying to leave quietly. It was way too conspicuous. 

Klahadore’s attention instantly gravitated to him. Naruto’s brows pinched further, weight shifting to the soles of his feet. He didn’t like how this was going. The butler adjusted his glasses with the heel of his palm, eyes shadowed and dark. Round glasses.  _ Round glasses _ . His neck prickled with anxiety as his mind  _ screamed _ liar. Betrayal. 

Oh. Kabuto was a turncoat. He hadn’t remembered that before. 

“You’re the son of a filthy pirate”, the butler dropped the insult bluntly, casually, as if it were fact, “It’s no wonder you’re a liar” 

_ That _ drew Usopp’s hackles up, “Did you say  _ filthy? _ ” 

Naruto took a single step forward, the fresh sting of new memories still on the surface of his mind. It wasn’t fair to Klahadore to paint him with so much loaded suspicion but Naruto didn’t care at the moment. The butler was still spewing nonsense and lies,  _ goading _ Usopp. Like Mizuki had goaded  _ him _ . 

Usopp moved. He was fast for a civilian. Naruto’s eyes tracked Klahadore’s minute shifting, recognizing it as a fighter moving along with the hit. The punch connected. It shouldn’t have made the butler fall down that gracelessly. That instinctual shift should have let him stay on his feet or literally roll with the punch. 

He looked to Zoro. The swordsman was eyeing Luffy with maybe half his attention on the commotion. He didn’t seem to notice. 

“I’M PROUD THAT MY FATHER IS A PIRATE! I’M  _ PROUD _ HE’S A GREAT WARRIOR OF THE SEA!”, Usopp declared admirably, startling Naruto out of his thoughts. 

He proudly declared he was the son of a pirate for everyone there to hear. Klahadore was clearly prejudiced against pirates as he  _ continued _ with his accusations. Usopp went to punch him once more but was stopped by Kaya’s call. She insisted Klahadore wasn’t a bad person. Naruto wasn’t so sure. Usopp stopped nonetheless, getting away instead. 

Naruto stared after him as he threatened he’d never come back to the mansion. His feet moved on their own, going after the known liar with a good heart. 

“Naruto?”, Nami called after him. 

“I’m going after him!”, Naruto threw over his shoulder, continuing on at a faster pace. 

After all, he didn’t want Usopp to be alone with his thoughts like he had been. 

xXXx

Naruto took back what he thought about Klahadore. He’d been right to hate him from the start. Round glasses guy was not to be trusted. The man had been planning to  _ assassinate _ Kaya! For three years! 

The ninja had easily kept up with Usopp who had kind of coldly asked why he was following him. He’d just said he wanted to and that was that. They’d sat on a hill with a view of the ocean, quiet and Usopp steaming with leftover nerves and anger. Then Luffy had appeared. He’d hung upside down by his ankles from a tree branch. 

Apparently Naruto’s new captain had known Usopp’s father, Yasopp, since he was a kid. The man was sailing with Red Haired Shanks whom Naruto had never heard of. 

Red Haired… The nickname piqued his interest for some reason. Yet he couldn’t quite grasp it. 

But then.  _ Then _ . Klahadore had come under the cliff they were perched on and talked to a funny looking guy about their plans to assassinate Kaya.  _ Kaya _ . The sweet mansion owner who laughed at Usopp’s stories and Naruto’s prank. Who was an  _ orphan _ . They wanted to kill her just to get rich and to live outside the life of a pirate! 

People like that existed everywhere, he guessed. That didn’t mean he had to like it or tolerate it. 

Luffy jumped up, “HEY! YOU TWO! DON’T YOU  _ DARE _ TOUCH THE MANSION LADY!” 

Suddenly Naruto had a moment of deja vu to a certain forest where he’d tried to gather info on the situation. He shouldn’t have expected Luffy to stay still. Of course he wouldn’t. Usopp was terrified for all their lives, trying to get Luffy to stand down. Not that it would’ve helped either way. Captain Kuro, or Klahadore, and his companion Jango had already noticed. 

“Did you… hear anything?”, Kuro asked, eyes shadowed. 

“N- No, nothing at all we just got he-”, Usopp tried to explain, terrified tears in his eyes. 

“Why should we tell  _ you!? _ ”, Naruto shouted defensively, outraged. 

“We heard everything”, Luffy admitted, to Usopp’s shock and Naruto’s exasperation. 

The ninja sighed and improvised, scowling down at them, “Yeah. And we won’t just  _ let you _ kill Kaya!” 

Usopp, shaking and sweaty, crossed his arms along with the blond boy and stared down his long nose, “Y- You w- won’t s-s-succeed!” 

Jango and Kuro traded unimpressed but serious glances. Then the weird guy lifted a disk hung from a string and started swinging it back and forth. It was somehow mesmerizing. 

“When I say ‘one, two, Jango’, you will fall asleep”, Jango’s voice tried to pull Naruto in more but he blinked the haze from his mind and decided this was too dangerous, running down the cliff and taking a throwing knife out. 

Usopp called after him, scared. He paid the teen no mind, trying to cut the string, but was intercepted by Captain Kuro whom he was forced to dodge. 

“-two, Jango!”

And suddenly he felt sleepy. The ninja dropped the knife and brought his hands to a familiar seal. 

“Kai!”, he shouted, chakra flaring, and the illusion dissipated from him. 

Somehow it felt… stickier than normal genjutsu. The blond turned his still clearing head towards the illusionist, a daunting realization forming in his mind. 

“You’re… the one who hypnotized that fox bear”, he voiced, “You gave  _ them _ the means to attack Wheat Village!” 

Jango raised an eyebrow, seemingly sleepy himself, “Hm… Yes, they paid good money”

Naruto couldn’t say or do more as Luffy suddenly crashed to the ground next to him. His head was squished under his shoulders, neck at a weird angle. His first instinct was to say dead. But he remembered. Rubber man. It still didn’t stop him from being alarmed and distracted. That’s what he blamed it on. That, and the sticky illusion. 

Something hard hit him on the back of his head and he went down. The last thing he saw was the traitor butler adjusting his glasses, declaring no one would believe Usopp. 

_ That… slimy… snake! _

Everything went dark. 

xXXx

When Naruto regained consciousness only a short while had passed. His head throbbed like the back of it had cracked up. He might have been  _ dead _ if he didn’t have enhanced healing thanks to the fox. He noticed snoring nearby as he sat up slowly, vision swimming for a second. 

“Lu… ffy?”, he mumbled. 

Right. He’d gotten knocked out by the fake butler. And Jango cast that weird sleeping jutsu. Er, hypnosis. The ninja hopped on his feet and staggered, head pounding, before hobbling to kick Luffy over from the undignified sleeping position he’d quite literally fallen into. 

“Wake  _ up! _ We gotta- stop  _ Kuro _ ”, he half stated, half yelled. 

The pirate snored louder. Eye twitching, Naruto crouched by his captain’s side and pinched stretchy skin between his nails. Tightly. 

“Hrm?”, Luffy cracked his eyes open a fraction to bat away at him. 

Naruto pulled, stretching the skin up. Then let it snap back into place. Luffy sat up abruptly and knocked a surprised Naruto to his butt. 

“Huh? Whad am I doing here?”, the rubber man muttered, squinting at the cliff. 

“You fell asleep because of that hypnotist guy”, Naruto informed him, holding his head and brow furrowing as the pain intensified again. 

“Oh”, Luffy was more awake and noticed the pained expression, frowning, “What happened to  _ you? _ ” 

Naruto pulled his attention away from the pulsing at the back of his skull and stood up. There was an evil plot to stop. 

“Doesn’t matter. Where’s Usopp?”, he deflected, looking up the cliff but didn’t hear nor see him. 

Then he turned back to the shore’s direction, hearing noises there. Familiar noises. Zoro and Nami. And the three kids. He felt a grin tug at his face as he waved. But his mind was on the problem of the missing Usopp. Luffy was staring at him. What? Was there something on his face? 

“I’m gonna go find Usopp”, Naruto informed him, turning to run up the cliff. 

Before he could, a stretchy hand grabbed his arm and stopped him. The ninja looked back at Luffy’s serious eyes. 

“You’re hurting. Can you fight?”, he asked. 

Oh. Concern. That was new. He gave a slight grin, “Of course” 

The rubber arm let go. He dashed up the cliff, making the three kids yell in shock down below. Naruto hoped Luffy explained what they’d stumbled upon to the others. The ninja jumped nimbly from tree to tree, towards the village where he could hear shouting. He needed to find Usopp! 

Naruto soon pinpointed the noises to the mansion and ran straight there. What he found was shocking. The two guards at the mansion gates were knocked out. A crowd of villagers was swarming in through the gate. Usopp was trying to drag Kaya out of her window. The ninja dashed past the villagers and to the known liar. 

“Usopp, what’re you doing!?”, he yelled over the shouts of the villagers. 

“Naruto? But- But you were-”, Usopp let go of Kaya in shock. 

“I’ve got a thick skull. What’s going on here? We need to focus on defending the village, not raising panic!”, the ninja stated, remembering flashes of an invasion, of panicked civilians dying, of the mob facing down Gato. 

“But- They’re going to attack the village! Kaya, we need to get out of here!”

Another butler had a gun. It was aimed at Usopp. He probably thought Usopp was trying to kidnap Kaya. Naruto frowned. This was getting nowhere. The ninja dashed to the long nosed teen and hoisted his weight over his slight shoulder, grunting with the effort. 

“This isn’t helping! Let’s go back and make a plan!”, Naruto told the protesting Usopp, running away from the situation. 

He got back into the now mostly empty village, setting the older teen back to his feet, and wobbled with a groan. His head was  _ throbbing _ . Ugh. Usopp was quiet except for harsh breathing. A water droplet fell to the ground and Naruto looked up to see tear tracks on the guy’s cheeks. 

“They don’t believe me…”, the teen’s voice was shaking with emotion, “Why won’t they believe me?” 

Naruto… didn’t know what to say. So he just stayed silent and shifted closer. His brow was pinched in pain and sympathy. Usopp sniffed and started walking back towards the shore, steps slow and shuffling. He stared for a moment before catching up and walking with him as silent support. Shadows were deepening. Soon it would be night. 

And the pirates would attack tomorrow morning, at dawn. Naruto started thinking of possibilities on what to do. 

“Oi! Captain Usopp!”, came a shout from up ahead, and he looked up to see everyone coming towards them. 

He saw Usopp quickly dry his tears from the corner of his eye. The liar smiled and greeted them with false cheer. It was a painfully familiar expression and Naruto turned away. The others got to them, Usopp Pirates quickly rambling about knowing the situation and how they should warn everyone. The ninja winced, folding his arms. 

“Warn everyone…?”, Usopp’s voice trembled ever so slightly before he threw his head back and laughed, “WAHAHAHA, What pirates? It was a lie! Just like all the other times! It was- It was revenge on that butler, he’s not actually a pirate” 

Naruto’s head snapped up, mouth open to object, but he paused as he realized what the teen was doing. It also caused his headache to spike which made it harder to think of a response. Everything about this situation sucked. He watched as the other kids walked away, dejected that their captain would come up with a lie to hurt someone. 

It left only five people in the know about the plan. 

The ninja dropped his arms to his sides with a stern look on his face, “...That’s not going to stop the attack from happening” 

“No. No it’s not”, Usopp agreed, voice forced past tears, “Which is why… I will protect this village! I’ll  _ make _ the attack one of my lies!”, the tears fell, “After all, I  _ love _ this village. How could I just watch them die? Even though they tried to hurt me, I’ll protect them” 

Naruto felt his heart swell. That was… It was the exact same way he fought for his village. For both of them. After all, it was still  _ his village _ and he loved it and its people. 

Zoro huffed, “You’re a pretty great guy. Lying to get the kids out of harm’s way” 

“Okay. I’m definitely butting into this fight”, Luffy stated. 

“As long as all the treasure is mine, I’m in”, Nami put in her two beri. 

“W- What?”, Usopp looked at them, baffled. 

Naruto reached a fist out, grinning, “It means we’re fighting with you, dattebayo!”

The teen flailed about, not getting it, thinking it was only pity that made them say things like that. The small pirate crew set him straight soon enough. Usopp wouldn’t be fighting alone and scared. This was his  _ first _ big fight, after all. 

They got to thinking up plans. It was rather simple. Just one path led to the village, everywhere else was cliffs. Naruto was often scolded for bad planning but this, he felt, was definitely not good enough. 

“This won’t work! Just because they’re cliffs doesn’t mean you can’t climb them!”, he stated. 

“It’s not impossible for  _ you _ , you mean”, Zoro muttered, “Normal folk can’t manage” 

“It’s still a  _ point! _ ”, the ninja argued and then looked to their navigator, “And isn’t there the other path where  _ we _ docked?” 

A look of realization washed over her face, “Ah! You’re right!”, her brows scrunched up, “And my treasure is there!” 

“But”, Usopp started, “They talked about their plan here. It’s still the most likely they’ll attack from this side. We can’t be everywhere at once!” 

They all stared for a moment. Everyone but him turned to Naruto. The ninja grinned and made a familiar cross with his fingers. Twenty clones poofed into existence. Usopp’s eyes bugged out, a shaking finger pointing at the impossible sight before him. He started counting the copies in his head, then quickly turned away and muttered something about dreaming and 'he has an army'. 

Naruto herself was frowning. This… was unusual. He’d tried for fifty like normally. Kuro must’ve hit him harder than he thought. His head was throbbing more now too. If he  _ tried _ to make more clones like this… he wouldn’t be able to fight. 

He shook the thought off. This was manageable. He could do this! 

“Anyway, we’ve got my clones. But there’s still one problem”, he looked at Usopp, “Klahadore is most likely back at the mansion” 

The youth snapped out of his shock, a sort of horror flashing on his face, “Kaya…! Oh no. She- She won’t let me back in and- and Kuro is too strong-”

Naruto hit his fist against his palm, a look of determination on his face, “I’ll go act as her bodyguard” 

“How wi- EEEH!?”, Usopp screeched in shock as Naruto’s form changed into Merry the butler. 

Zoro, Nami, and Luffy took a double take, “SINCE WHEN CAN YOU TRANSFORM!?” 

Naruto turned back to normal, head pounding, but he bore it with a grin, “I told you I was a ninja!” 

With that Naruto’s new and improved version of their defence strategy was implemented. Nami and Zoro at the north side, Luffy and Usopp on the other, Naruto clones everywhere in-between relaying messages, and the real Naruto at the mansion protecting Kaya while keeping an eye on ‘Klahadore’. 

xXXx

Naruto got into the mansion easily, climbing over the fence and disguising himself as a maid to walk through the garden, then climbing in through an upstairs window that happened to be open. He sneaked inside and stopped as he found Kuro walking down a hallway. Quietly, the ninja walked to the ceiling and started following him, making sure to make no sound and to stick to shadows and blind spots. 

It was like the many times he’d snuck in to the Academy or the Hokage Tower. Easier even, since Kuro might be a pirate but he wasn’t one with a ninja’s perception. Nor did Naruto have to stay out of  _ multiple _ shinobis sight. 

To be honest, he didn’t know if he could have hidden from shinobi in the condition he was in. The headache was still bad. 

He followed the fake butler into a room where Merry was too. They talked about Usopp. And him. And Merry was seemingly suspicious. About  _ Kuro _ . That was… a good sign. He talked about how Kaya had gotten Klahadore a present for his anniversary tomorrow, new glasses, and Naruto stiffened. The man dropped it to the ground, crushing it underfoot. That was just- 

Kuro was a  _ dead man walking _ . 

“No need to continue this act”, the pirate mused to himself, “After all, the village will be overtaken in a few short hours” 

A flash of metal, swords,  _ five _ of them. Naruto barely had time to drop down in front of Merry and prevent him from slashing at the innocent man. He’d blocked with the other throwing knife, the one he hadn’t dropped and lost in the last scuffle. Jango or Kuro had probably picked it up. 

“Didn’t we tell you? You  _ won’t succeed! _ ”, Naruto growled at the pirate. 

“Y- You’re-”, Merry’s voice radiated fear and confusion. 

“Get Kaya to safety!”, the ninja ordered him, “ _ Now! _ ” 

Then he had to dodge Kuro’s other hand that also held a glove with five blades. Like claws. Black Cat Pirates. Of course they were claws. Naruto fished a kunai out of his pocket’s seal, a slip of paper he’d drawn and put into it yesterday. It fit in his hand better. A much more familiar weapon than the knife. 

"I thought I killed you", Kuro's tone was irritated. 

The ninja just grinned and spun around, easily following the pirate’s speed which would become harder the longer he had to keep this up with the pain in his head. He blocked, swiped at the wrists and arms, dodged, rolled around, jumped over blades and the pirate captain. It soon became clear this wasn’t going to last. 

Naruto’s reactions were slower and Kuro got faster the angrier he got. There might’ve been taunts but the ninja didn’t remember them. Just that a cabinet got cut in half. 

He remembered making shadow clones, taking Kuro by surprise and getting a hit on the man’s left shoulder. He remembered the headache spike he got when Kuro slaughtered them. And then he remembered making more clones than necessary and nearly blacking out, watching them make cuts and scrapes on the butler’s otherwise neat outfit. 

There was an opportunity as Kuro’s claws got stuck in a wall for a second. In that second, clones had gotten a curtain down and wrapped it around the man, tying his hand behind his back and ripping the sword glove off. Naruto himself had knocked the man down and tried to tie him further. 

Kuro’s hand hit the side of his head and he  _ knew _ he blacked out for a split second, all his clones popping. It left him out of action for a whole ten seconds, in which Kuro had gotten the curtain sliced and hissed at him like an angry cat. 

“You insufferable brat! I will  _ end _ you!”, the man spat out, hand searching for his other glove and glasses, the visual aids having gotten knocked off near the end. 

The blond struggled to get up, grabbing the glasses before the butler. Grinning, he threw them out the window as fast and as far as he could. Then he took the glove and started running in the opposite direction, making the former pirate captain scream after him in rage. Something shattered behind him and he didn’t stop to look. 

Something slashed at his back and he cried out as he felt five cuts open across it. Ignoring the doubled pain the ninja ran up a wall in a hall-like place they’d reached. He found the window he’d entered in from and threw the glove out there too. More pain spread across his arm as he barely jumped out of the way of getting diced. 

“Have fun finding those!”, he taunted cheekily before putting all of his strength into running away to the forest. Perfectly in the middle of where he threw the two important objects. 

The kid knew that would only slow Kuro down. But Kaya and Merry got away unharmed. The mission was complete. Now he just… Needed a break. And a way to see if his injuries were bad or worse. He caught a flash of blonde at the corner of his eye and turned his slightly lethargic head to see a panting and panicked Kaya who was demanding an explanation from Merry. 

Naruto jumped towards them, dropping down next to a tree nearby and nearly toppling over. 

Kaya gasped in fright as Merry stepped in front of her. The butler relaxed after recognizing him. 

“Kid! What happened!?”, the man who resembled a sheep demanded, rushing to him as he saw the blood on his arm. 

The ninja grinned weakly, “I threw his sword glove and glasses away. That’ll slow him down for a while” 

“What about  _ you? _ There’s so much blood!”, Merry scolded, worry coloring his tone. 

Naruto chuckled a little, “Yeah, about that… Can you help bandage them?” 

That freed Kaya from her frozen state as she rushed over. Merry was already taking off his jacket. Naruto himself shrugged his own brown hoodie off and reached into his pocket for some bandages. He’d gotten used to having them there and not around his thigh because it had been one more thing to separate him from Wheat Village. He’d wanted to  _ belong _ there. He never really had. 

Kaya gently took it from him and took in the scratches on his arm. They weren’t that deep and would heal easily overnight. The wounds on his back were what worried him. 

The lady of the mansion got the job done quickly. Merry was just ripping his own jacket to bits to tie Naruto’s jacket as padding around the wounds. Kaya’s hands were shaking and tears ran down her cheeks. 

“...Klahadore did this”, she whispered, grief and betrayal twisting her face into disgust and sadness, “He did this. To a  _ child _ ” 

The ninja looked at her for a long moment before agreeing, “...He did. Though I scratched him too”

“ _ Doesn’t MATTER! _ ”, Kaya yelled before quieting, “...Klahadore isn’t the man I thought he was. Usopp was right!”, bigger tears rolled down her cheeks, “And I chased him away!” 

Merry finished tying the jacket pieces together around Naruto’s middle. He laid a comforting hand on Kaya’s shoulder. 

“We all did”, he said, angry at himself as he stared at the ninja’s wounds. 

It was quiet for a second. Then Naruto spoke up. 

“You messed up. So what?”, he took support from the tree behind him and stood up, looking at them resolutely, “You can always try to do better next time”

They stared at him in slight shock. Then Kaya looked to Merry. The man nodded and helped her stand up too. 

“You’re right, kid. We can do better. Do you know where he is right now?” 

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto, not kid!”, Naruto told him before digging at his clones’ memories and pointing right, “He’s at the path to the village over there. Pirates will attack in the morning so we’re guarding both entries” 

He started walking at a fast pace, tracking the forest around him for noises, and led them through a path he was certain his clone had gone before. The blond wasn’t sure what Kuro would do now but he thought a change of his plans was necessary with the condition he’d left the man in. That guy wouldn’t like it at all, he bet. 

His back twinged with every step but his headache was easing up now that he wasn’t doing excessive movements so much. Or using too much chakra which was the thing patching him up. Merry ended up carrying Kaya on his back when her ailing health made her unable to walk faster. It wasn’t a long walk. He could hear Usopp and Luffy talking quietly. 

The ninja quickened his pace a little, "Oi! Luffy, Usopp!", he called out. 

"Naruto!", Luffy grinned, "See? He's fine" 

Usopp heaved a sigh of relief as Naruto got out of the trees. He took a look at him and then did a double take as he saw the blood seeping through the bandage on his arm and the strips around his midsection. 

"What? What happened?", he asked, worried, "Is Kaya- !?" 

The teen's words cut off as Merry came to view with Kaya on his back. The young lady lifted her head up and found Usopp standing there. Her eyes welled up with tears. 

"Oh,  _ Usopp! _ I'm so sorry I didn't believe you! Klahadore is-", her lip wobbled, "-is a  _ horrible  _ person. He hurt Naruto so badly and would have  _ killed _ Merry if Naruto hadn't stepped in!" 

Naruto quickly stepped away and towards Luffy, letting Usopp and Kaya have a moment. He gave a tired grin towards Luffy who was frowning at him. The ninja blinked. 

"What?" 

Stubborn eyes met Naruto's, "You poofed. You said that doesn't happen if the clones don't get hit" 

"Er, it also happens if I'm unconscious", he explained, finding a conversation between Luffy, Usopp, and a clone. 

"Oh. Okay", the pirate nodded, pausing before poking his head, fast but not so fast he couldn't dodge… if he was at full capacity. 

" _ Ow! _ ", the ninja clutched at his head "What was  _ that _ for!?" 

Luffy crossed his arms, "Your hurting got worse. Go sleep" 

Naruto stared stubbornly, head pounding, back throbbing, arm in pain. He himself said he needed a break. The headache was starting to worry _ him _ too.  _ Luffy _ was worried. Naruto sighed before smiling slightly. 

"You'll protect them, right?" 

"Shishishi! Of course!" 

With that, he found a comfortable spot under a tree and curled up there, using a root as a pillow. It was weird. He trusted Luffy to keep his word. It was like sharing shifts with his team on missions. But at the same time not really. This was more… free. 

His brain was half asleep when he realized he might be forgetting something. 

_ I wonder… how Nami and Zoro are doing…  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. This was getting kind of long. So I decided to split it off here and continue the other half. And I kinda wanted feedback. 
> 
> Things went a bit more out of canon events then I originally intended. So, I had to rewrite the whole Arc's plot to suit the actions Naruto took here. Which was hard and now I'm having a downright irritating time writing it all out. It was my wish things wouldn't stay canon but putting me to write entirely new events wasn't what I anticipated for this fic. 
> 
> I quite like the result at the moment. Tell me what you think. 
> 
> Thank you for all the wonderful comments asking me to continue and telling what you liked! They helped me with writing!


	4. Black Cat Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fighting ensues.

Their night had started nicely. Nami insisted on sailing their boats somewhere safer where her treasure couldn’t be gotten to. Which meant Naruto and her went to do so and left the boats behind a tall rock nearby. They got out of their respective boats and started walking back to Zoro who had stayed at the slope to guard it. A nearby clone kept him company during that. 

It was what happened next that was alarming. 

The clones popped. One second they were there, then grunted in pain and were gone in puffs of smoke. Nami stared for a moment before starting to run. She reached Zoro within minutes, just a little out of breath. 

“Did the clone here pop too?”, she asked, concerned. 

“It did…”, Zoro agreed, eyes sweeping the forest, “I don’t see any other clones either” 

Nami chewed on her cheek for a second, “He said they dispel when they suffer damage. Do you think… it extends to his real body? He could be in danger!” 

The swordsman grit his teeth, “He’s a tough kid. Even if he’s hurt, he got away” 

The orangette clenched her fists and looked to the direction of the mansion. It was only a short while away, just a bit further from the village. She could make it there and back within twenty minutes. Dawn would come a little after that. There was no telling what she’d find at the mansion. If anything at all. 

“He’s  _ twelve _ ”, she muttered, “Against a  _ pirate captain _ . Why did I agree to this?” 

“He's a fighter”, Zoro reminded her, “That brat knows how to protect himself and how to hide” 

And that was  _ true _ but sometimes the opponent knew how to fight as well. The last she’d seen Naruto, and in his clones, the blond seemed distracted. Slow to react. He’d gotten knocked out at some point if what Luffy said was right. So it was likely he was fighting at a disadvantage. That wasn’t helping her worry. 

Zoro was in prime condition...

“...I’m going to check”, she informed him, starting to run, “You hold them off if they come here!” 

Ignoring Zoro’s call, the navigator rushed up the path. She quieted her footfalls as well as she could, like years of stealing and sneaking around had taught her. It wasn’t as quiet as Naruto. She hoped it had kept him safe. 

He  _ better _ be safe. 

There was something gleaming ahead. She stopped at the field ways off from both the mansion and Syrup Village. It looked like… a pile of swords? Wait, no, there was a glove attached to the blades. She gasped as she realized Captain Kuro’s weapons were supposed to be cat claws. This seemed to match that description. 

Which meant Naruto had gotten him away from his weapon. She didn’t know why she was surprised. 

But… where  _ was _ he? Or Kuro for that matter? 

Nami froze as she heard a clang up ahead. There. On the other side of the field where the cliff was. A head popped over the hill, light glinting off round glasses. The cat burglar let out a quiet ‘Eep!’ sound as she picked up the glove, hiding it away from moonlight and running. She needed to get to Zoro or Luffy. As fast as she could. 

There was _no way_ she could win against Kuro _by_ _herself!_

She just hoped Naruto was fine. At least this would draw the enemy away from  _ him _ if he was there. 

xXXx

Tamanegi couldn't sleep. He had too much on his mind, from the way his captain had acted to the events before that. It simply wasn't  _ like _ Usopp to lie to hurt others because someone offended him or even hurt him. As far as Tamanegi knew anyway. Perhaps he hadn't known the older boy as well as he thought. 

He turned under his sheets, a pronounced frown on his face but unseen in the dark. Moonlight shone through the window. It was halfway across his room. Morning would come soon and yet he'd only fallen to a fitful sleep and was lying wide awake now. He sighed, swinging his legs over the bed and walking near silently across the room, feet shuffling slightly. 

The boy made it to the kitchen and climbed on a stool to get a glass, pouring some water in it and taking a sip. Movement from the window made him stop and curiously go look. 

Moonlight was just enough to see a woman rush through the meadow outside. She looked familiar. Short hair and a skirt and- Oh, she was the one they thought was a witch that ate their captain. Tamanegi tilted his head. 

_ Why is she run- _ , the thought cut off as someone else came to view, dark as night but five beams of metal glinting in moonlight. 

They were hurrying after her but slower. Limping. Tamanegi gulped as he shifted enough for some light to be on his face. He too looked familiar. Too familiar. And those glasses confirmed it. It was Klahadore, the stupid butler. 

With five swords. 

His hands trembled, water sloshing to the floor as he hurriedly set the glass aside on the windowsill and rushed to the door to get his shoes. The noise he made clearly woke up her mom. Dad was a deep sleeper. But this was important! He couldn't let mom stop him! She wouldn't believe him if he- 

" _ Tamanegi! _ What are you doing at the door?", his mom came to the door of the kitchen with her nightgown, "It's the middle of the night!"

He pulled his shoes on and took his jacket, "Sorry, mom. This is important! Usopp didn't lie after all and pirates are coming in the morning!" 

"What-", her sentence cut off as Tamanegi rushed outside. 

The members of the Usopp Pirates stuck together, and if he was right then their captain was out there. Fighting alone! He would need everyone he could. Piiman and Ninjin needed to know about this! 

xXXx

Usopp alternated between looking at the slowly lightening horizon and glancing at a sleeping Naruto. He looked peaceful, except for the black strips tied around his midsection and around his arm with some red seeping through. Kaya was sitting next to him and tightening one of the bandages. She was sweaty and looked… fragile. Like she’d looked the first time he’d gone to her mansion to see her. 

The pirate butler’s betrayal seemed to have left an open wound in her well-being. That was to be expected, he guessed, if the man had taken care of her for three whole years without showing his true colors. 

His eyes strayed to the young ninja again and he felt a surge of anger and fear at the boy's condition. The kid couldn’t be too much older than his three little 9-year-old followers. He knew how to fight, that was a given with his speed, strength, and those  _ clones _ … but Captain Kuro had done  _ this _ to him. Usopp had thought the kid dead when Kuro knocked him out with such  _ force _ and his skull had bounced from rock. 

“Oi, Luffy…”, he heard himself ask, eyes on the whiskered blond, “Isn’t he a little too young to be a pirate?” 

The pirate captain who didn’t  _ seem _ like a pirate captain glanced at him from the corner of his eye, expression the same neutral as it had been for the past twenty minutes. Since Naruto had fallen asleep. 

“He made his own decision”, the straw hat boy informed him before a light grin crossed his features, “It was much better he came with us then go on alone” 

Usopp turned from the kid to the young man next to him, a small surge of respect in his chest. If Naruto’s other choice was to sail the seas  _ alone _ then… Well. The kid had seemed lonely. And these guys seemed strong enough they could protect him if needed. 

“ _ LUFFY! _ ”, a woman’s voice rang through the forest and got both of them to turn back. 

Nami was running towards them, expression panicked but determined. She ran like death itself was on her heels. Usopp blanched as he saw a shadow of a figure walking languidly behind her, calm and composed but fast like he was running. Death wasn’t even that far  _ off _ . 

“Nami?”, Luffy questioned, before his eyes found what Usopp was now pointing at fearfully, “Ah! The butler guy!” 

The short haired woman reached them easily enough, panting just slightly, as she stopped next to Kaya and whirled to look behind her. Kuro was still walking towards them, though his pace was slower. Now that Usopp thought about it the butler was scruffed up. Like he’d been in a fight. His eyes drifted to Naruto, amazed. 

Kuro adjusted his stupid glasses, five blades on his hand shining, “So this is where the rest of you interfering little  _ pests _ have hidden” 

Usopp let out a strangled gurgling noise, knees locking together at the sheer  _ hostility _ those words emitted. Luffy stepped forward, just in front of all of them. 

“It’s  _ useless _ , Usopp-kun. The plan is going to succeed”, the butler’s eyes drifted to a shaking Kaya, cold and calculating, “Your fortune will be mine after your unfortunate death” 

“K- Klahadore…”, her voice trembled, vulnerable, “You really aren’t the Klahadore I knew…”

Merry’s hand rested on the young mistress’ shoulder, trying to comfort, even as he glared at his fellow butler. The man behind this evil plan ignored them as he looked down to the kid lying in front of her, dead to the world, and his eyes narrowed. 

“How fitting”, he mused, “that the thief would lead me to my newest headache so I can finally  _ slaughter _ it” 

Nami’s eyes widened as she finally noticed Naruto’s prone form. Then, Kuro  _ disappeared _ . Luffy launched himself forward and  _ struck _ at the previously empty space right on top of the ninja. Kuro’s form flew to a tree at the opposite side of the road they were on. Luffy's straw hat shadowed his eyes as he cracked his knuckles. 

“You won't  _ touch _ them”, the pirate captain vowed, a dark edge to his promise. 

Kuro slowly rose from the ground, head twisting to the side as he rolled it to reduce impact induced stiffness. The glint of his round glasses hid his eyes. 

"Curious. You saw through it", Captain Kuro stated, expression blank and yet somehow furious. 

He disappeared again, this time towards Kaya who screamed in terror before Luffy was there again, blocking the hit with an elbow to Kuro's gut. Then, because Kuro dodged, he hit the man's right cheek with a grunt of frustration and launched him back back back with a stretching punch. Unfortunately he recovered quickly and was suddenly by Nami's side again. Luffy was also there. 

The game of hit-and-miss didn't continue for long as Nami let out a gasp and the enemy pirate captain pulled his other sword glove on, having stolen it back from the thief. 

"K- Kaya-ojousama, let's go while we still can", Merry breathed quietly, tugging his employer to her feet and bolting. 

"Wait!", Usopp shouted, looking between their retreating backs and Naruto's unconscious form before Nami motioned for him to just  _ go _ . 

He nodded fearfully and ran after the two, getting Kaya to get on his back and  _ running _ . 

Nami took out her staff and settled in front of Naruto. 

Luffy was positioned in front of them, standing his ground. 

Kuro finished putting his glove in place. He lifted his head, glare clear in his eyebrows and mouth. 

The battle was starting on another level. And Naruto was still sleeping through it. 

xXXx

Usopp led Merry through the forest but honestly he wasn't sure where he should be going. So he just ran forward. Towards north. So maybe they could alert Zoro because the swordsman seemed competent and that would be  _ protection _ . For Kaya and Merry. And himself. 

Kaya was crying again. He could feel the tears on his shoulder where she'd buried her head. 

"Hey", he said to gain her attention, "Have I ever told you about my dad?" 

She sniffled and a hand lifted to dry some tears before placing it back around his neck. The young woman answered with a no. And so, for the first time in their acquaintance Usopp told tales that were true. About his childhood, of not really remembering his father but hearing stories from her mother. How he was why he learned to shoot with his slingshot. He told about learning Yasopp was in Red Haired Shanks' crew. 

It was a distraction amongst the best of them. For Kaya to forget the traitor for a second. And for Usopp to just  _ run _ and not  _ worry _ . 

Then there was a crack of a branch in front of them and all three of them yelped in fear and surprise. 

"Haah? Usopp?", the green haired swordsman cocked an eyebrow at them, "What's going on?" 

" _ Zoro! _ ", the sharpshooter exhaled with clear relief, "Look, Naruto showed up at the other slope after his clones popped. Kuro had cut him up. Then  _ Nami _ showed up with a stolen glove weapon and Kuro on her heels. And now  _ Luffy is fighting him alone oh no-! _ ", the fear he'd managed to push to the side came flooding in as he realized what had  _ happened _ . 

Zoro cut him off by taking his bandana and tying it around his head, a bloodthirsty smirk gracing his lips, "Right. I'm going there. You stay here and shout if there's trouble" 

He started to run off except- 

" _ THAT'S THE WRONG WAY!! _ ", Merry and Usopp yelled in sync, Kaya too exhausted to bother. 

The swordsman stopped dead with an irritated glower, " _ Which  _ way then?" 

Three pointed fingers. He started that way and- 

"Don't turn  _ left! _ It's  _ straight ahead! _ ", Usopp stopped him. 

When he turned so sharply to the right he faced  _ them _ again Merry had enough and yelled at Usopp to take care of Kaya so  _ he _ could guide this hopeless savior to where he was  _ needed _ . This left Usopp and Kaya in the woods. Alone. Without protection from anyone. 

Usopp looked to the direction Zoro had come from and realized the slope was  _ right there _ . And he was alone here to protect it  _ and _ Kaya.  _ Only him. _

At that moment, nobody could blame him for the trembling that made his knees knock together. 

xXXx

Naruto snapped his eyes open, consciousness returning in a rush of confused clarity. Sounds of battle sounded to his right and he could feel his wounds throbbing. It was still much better than when he'd run from the mansion. 

His headache had receded to almost normal levels. 

The scene that greeted him both was and wasn't what he expected. Nami was standing in front of him with tense shoulders and staff tightly held in front of her. Beyond that was Luffy and a  _ blur _ . His eyes immediately focused on it and he realized Kuro was moving  _ fast _ . Cuts and felled trees were everywhere.  _ Except _ their spot. 

_ Not as fast as Bushy Brows _ , was his first thought. 

Memories of green spandex and orange leg warmers and weight craters moved through his mind as he stared at the destruction, frozen. It looked like Kuro couldn't even see where he was striking. And Luffy couldn't concentrate on anything other than keeping his aimlessness  _ away _ from his crew. 

Well. That could stop now. Naruto carefully flexed his chakra and when that didn't give so much as a twinge he crossed his fingers and yelled the name of his signature technique. Many of his clones were instantly slaughtered but others dodged and struck back. Many formed a wall of physical chakra constructs around him and Nami. 

"Kick his butt, Luffy!", he called out to his captain. 

Luffy glanced back from the corner of his eye and Naruto saw part of the D-shaped grin that cut sharply across his face. 

The very next moment Luffy struck out his fist and there was a crunch of glasses and facial structures shattering. Kuro went flying down the road and laid there, seemingly exhausted. Nami sighed in relief. Naruto would have too. 

Except there were three  _ stupid _ kids who decided it was a good idea to poke at a downed lion with pitchforks and shovels. 

"This is for the village!" 

"What have you done to Kaya-ojousama and Captain Usopp!?" 

" _ Haaa! Take that! _ " 

For a second the pirate didn't move. In that second Naruto had managed to run to the kids and tackled them to the ground. Three clones he left behind were cut to ribbons before popping in plumes of dispersing chakra. His wounds ached and he felt a warm trickle down his back. Blood. 

Kuro was standing and Tamanegi, Ninjin, and Piiman whimpered at his unholy rage. Naruto eased himself up and in front of them, a forced grin on his face. 

"This seems a bit familiar", he commented, "Should I snatch your glasses again?" 

The poor things were so badly beaten that they barely hung on the man's face. Glass had spiderweb cracks and metal bent away from his ear. Kuro's eye twitched violently and his whole expression went from livid to unhinged. 

"You… are a  _ nuisance _ …", he seethed, nearly hissing, "...to the  _ Plan! _ " 

Naruto was ready to block and strike back. He was prepared to take a hit or two for the scared trio behind him. He  _ wasn't  _ ready for Kuro to up and disappear from his vision as he pushed his speed to its very  _ limits _ . 

_ Thump! _

Luffy was standing behind him, in front of the kids, and two rubbery hands clutching the cat pirate's fingers together. 

"No.  _ No! _ ", Kuro yanked at the unrelenting grip, a blade cutting at Luffy's hand as he tried to wiggle his thumb free, " _ I can't fail! _ " 

And he pulled free from his gloves and left Luffy's arms twisted together by spinning in place. The younger captain yelped as two blades struck through one arm and made him stumble. Kuro cackled, disappearing again and this time Naruto  _ did _ stop him from stomping on Piiman while getting a weapon. A shovel. 

"Nami!", the ninja yelled in alarm as he realized  _ where _ he was headed. 

The navigator didn't have time to be alarmed. Kuro was already there with the edge of the shovel against her neck. 

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to measures like this, but you have  _ forced _ my hand", he spat at them, "Stop resisting or her life is forfeit!" 

Luffy struggled free of the sword gloves, pulling the blades out of his skin with a furious snort. Then he paused. Naruto blinked and suppressed a grin. 

Kuro interpreted it as surrender and smirked with his split lip, "Good. I knew you could see reason. Now-" 

His sentence was cut off just like the shovel he was holding. Nami ducked out the instant his grip let up, spinning with her staff, and gaped up at Zoro holding  _ Kuro _ at sword point. 

"I think your  _ plan _ is forfeit",  _ their _ swordsman intoned. 

"Shishishi! Great job, Zoro!" 

Naruto sank to his knees to rest up from his sudden movements. He'd need a moment. Then he'd be fine to continue. 

"C- Could you restrain him, Zoro-san?", Merry the butler asked warily as he poked his head out from behind a tree. 

Just a few minutes later they had an unconscious Black Cat Pirate tied to a tree with loads of rope and weapons nowhere in sight. They were lucky Nami had the binds sequestered on her person. Naruto was missing the ninja wire that Sasuke always… used… 

He missed his team. 

The ninja turned to the horizon with a frown. He’d find them. No matter what. Then he registered what he was  _ seeing _ and the promise was pushed away in place of shock. 

“Hey, it’s morning!”, he exclaimed, “They’re not here!” 

Nami was the first to get it, “But that means… Usopp is out there alone!” 

“ _ What!? _ ”, Piiman, Tamanegi, and Ninjin yelled and immediately went to run to the northern slope. 

Zoro grabbed their scruffs and pulled them back, “Don’t be so hasty. You’d get in the way” 

“But- Captain Usopp-” 

Luffy crouched next to them with a big grin, “No point in worrying. I know he’ll manage. And we’re going to help him anyway” 

“I’m going ahead! Somebody guard Kuro!”, Naruto called out from the trees, ears trained on the sounds of yelling. 

He didn’t need to look back to know his crew was following. He still prepared to be the only one there for a good minute. After all, he was pretty fast when he wanted to be. And right now he  _ wanted _ to be. 

_ Hang in there Usopp! _

xXXx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sigh...
> 
> So, I tried to get Usopp's Arc done this chapter. Couldn't quite get there which is why things are left here. There's maybe four paragraphs written for the next chapter and I'm dreading writing it down... I might need ideas. 
> 
> r/fanfiction Discord! Here I come! ...At some point. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it! Thanks for all the kind comments!


	5. Usopp's Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pirates marching up the hill, against a mil- er, thou- um. A hundred men? Still exaggerating? Probably.

Usopp made Kaya hide in the trees and spread spikes over the slope as first rays of light started throwing long shadows everywhere. He saw the big ship of the Black Cat Pirates sliding into view, spying the weird hypnotist backwards guy at the helm. Not facing him. It was so weird. Everything was also so surreal and scary he didn't know what to do with himself. 

So he just fingered his pouches, the round metal balls ready for him to shoot with his trusty slingshot. He only had a few Gunpowder Stars… He wouldn't lead with those so Lead Stars it was. 

"Usopp-san", Kaya whispered as she poked her head out of the bush she was hiding behind. "You don't  _ have _ to do this. I can just-" 

" _ No. _ Don't say that. I won't let you sacrifice yourself", he stated, voice quivering just a fraction because hiding with her sounded  _ safe _ and he wanted to feel that. "I  _ need _ to do this. Otherwise my home will…" 

Kaya stayed silent. He didn't need to finish that sentence. The first pirates came to shore. She prayed Usopp's friends would get there in time. 

Pounding feet and roaring yells. Usopp told himself the knocking at his knees was because the ground was shaking. He raised his weapon, steeling his spine, and opened his mouth. 

“I- I h-ha-”, he stopped to take a deep breath. “ _ STOP RIGHT THERE! _ ” 

Miraculously, they slowed down to listen. Jango looked up with an impassive face. Usopp remembered him hypnotizing Luffy and Naruto and fought the shudder that overtook him. The ‘briefing’ the young ninja had held with the crew to put a plan together included what he thought they were facing and Jango was identified as the Number Two threat. 

Kuro being Number One. And on the other side of the island with Straw Hat and his crew. 

He gulped fearfully but continued with his task. 

“RETREAT NOW, OR I’LL SICK MY ARMY OF A MI-  _ HUNDRED _ MEN ON YOU!!” he declared with finality, only remembering the impromptu lying lesson with Naruto when they were talking with Kaya, saying the lie was more believable if it was  _ possible _ and proceeding to prove his point by poking Usopp’s story full of holes. 

Dead. Silence. Some pirates looked pale. Others sceptical and looking to their captain for orders. Then someone chuckled. 

“Really now? A  _ hundred? _ Under the command of someone like  _ you? _ ” he laughed. 

Usopp, inexplicably, relaxed a little. This was like patching up the holes questioners made. Yeah, he was only telling a lie to Kaya at the mansion and she and Naruto were trying to pick it apart. Just that, no deadly swords in dangerous hands opposing him, nope. 

“DON’T UNDERESTIMATE OUR LOYALTY TO THIS VILLAGE!” he roared. “YOUR TRUE LEADER, CAPTAIN KURO, HAS BEEN DEFEATED IN THE NIGHT! IF YOU DON’T WISH TO SUFFER THE SAME FATE, LEAVE THIS ISLAND AND NEVER RETURN!” 

That made them quiet down. Usopp was sweating, wondering if he did it right by bringing up their illustrious former captain. Whom Luffy was keeping busy at the moment. ‘Defeated in the night’ hopefully wasn’t an exaggeration. Otherwise they were all dead meat. 

What’s that Naruto said? The best lies are centered around truth? 

His words seemed to correct if the men’s uncertain or gaping faces were any indication. 

“What was that?” Jango asked. “Captain Kuro, defeated?” 

“That’s  _ impossible! _ ”

“OUTRAGEOUS!” 

“But- But if he’s telling the truth…”

“Calm down, man. Captain Kuro is too strong!” 

Usopp felt himself shaking as he realized that some truths might not be the  _ best _ to base a lie on. Especially if the truth was too unbelievable to believe. He took his slingshot and quickly loaded it, aiming. His hands were steady now even if his insides were twisted up so badly he felt he might vibrate out of his skin. 

“LEAVE! WE HAVE WEAPONS AIMED AT YOU! CHARGE AND YOU’LL BE SHOT DOWN!” 

His voice would be hoarse after this. If 'this' worked it’d be worth it. He could see the men hesitating. Jango looked up under the rim of his hat, heart shaped sunglasses flashing. 

“Move forward, men. We need to defeat them, for Captain Kuro!” 

The men looked fearful, realizing something. It was unlikely Captain Kuro was dead. If he saw them  _ dawdling _ like this, though, because of a  _ possible _ threat up the slope in the woods… it was likely  _ they _ would all die. 

With that, they all yelled as one and started charging. 

A few steps forward and some in the back relaxed because nothing had happened. But then the first ones started yelling and falling and the man on top of the hill was flinging projectiles at them so fast they didn’t have time to react. It was like the front was being shot at with invisible things. They slowed down. 

Jango lifted his hypnosis ring. Usopp felt his eyes  _ drawn _ to it, scared, and abruptly closed them. 

He  _ wasn't  _ getting hypnotized! 

A sound of something whizzing through the air. No phrases. No talking. Just a  _ whiz _ and… 

Something big slammed into his side and- warm. Weird liquid? On his arm. Usopp's eyes snapped open as he fell to the side, Kaya's form hugging him from the middle. The whizzing sound was past him and a glint of silver flew back to where it came from like a boomerang. 

He braced himself on one arm, landing with a  _ thump _ . Pain  _ flared _ . And not from the side he landed, but the  _ bicep _ of his other arm. It had a long, quite deep cut just under his shoulder. His eyes widened as it dripped red on Kaya's beige coat. 

"K- Kaya!" he yelped. 

She lifted her head, revealing scared dark brown eyes. They landed on his wound and, to his horror, started watering. Then her expression hardened and she rose up, taking a  _ gun _ out of  _ nowhere _ and aiming it at the pirate horde that had stopped with their comrades downed and writhing in pain on the ground. 

" _ Don't MOVE! _ Or I'll shoot!" she threatened, voice trembling just slightly. 

Usopp felt his heart stop at the sight. He ignored the pain, rising up to his feet, trying not to think about  _ where _ the apparently  _ bladed _ hypnosis tool would have landed if he'd stayed still. 

He fumbled with his slingshot pulling it back and pulling at his wound in the same movement, stepping right next to Kaya. 

The pirates were looking at them weirdly. 

"...Charge, men! The army is a lie! Get the girl, she's the one whose fortune Captain Kuro wants!" Jango yelled orders. 

The men looked at their downed comrades who dug spikes out of their footwear and places where they dug into their skin. They looked at the ground, noticing them littering the slope for the first time. 

"Straight ahead, boys!" one yelled. "Watch your step!" 

"I KNEW he was lying!"

Kaya had started shaking. Usopp gulped. This was  _ not _ going well. 

Just then, a kid jumped from the trees. The two gasped, realizing who it was in an instant. A bright grin cut across his whiskered cheeks as he landed, bringing his fingers to a familiar cross form. 

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A LIE, HUH!?" Naruto screamed as around fifty of him poofed to existence. 

The mass of yellow-brown-black yelled a war cry as it descended on the surprised and fumbling group of attackers. Some cried out as they were struck by fists, feet, or a blade and flung into the ground or walls. Naruto didn't look it but he was pretty strong, especially for a kid. The shadow clones had his full weight and muscle mass as chakra. Some got hit and popped out of existence but many of them downed one or two opponents before that. 

It was enough to decimate the entire force, leaving them groaning on the ground and fourteen Narutos standing above them. 

Jango was staring at the sight, impassive but sweating. One of his eyebrows ticked with stress. 

"You're strong. We just have to be  _ stronger. _ Men!" he lifted the pendulum, heads turning towards him. "When I say 'one, two, Jango' you'll be healed and much stronger than before!" 

"Oh, no you don't!" Narutos charged forward, blocking eyesight and lunged from too many directions. 

"One", Jango dodged the first seven hits, still waving the pendulum. "Two. Jango!"

Only around twenty pirates rose from the ground, Naruto's clones having blocked the rest from seeing and some too injured to rise anyway. 

...Some of Naruto's clones yelled 'kai'. Naruto himself had closed his eyes. But he felt the connection to some of his clones flood with an angry frenzy. He knew how sticky that genjutsu was and couldn't blame them for not being able to shake it off wholly. 

Wait, he could  _ use _ this! 

Three clones grinned at each other as they realized the same, stopping from fighting the hypnosis. He had eight left. They roared at the charging and equally strengthened pirates, blitzing into the frey like madmen and knocking people left and right, getting proofed in return. 

The result was nine left on Black Cat Pirates side, five left on Naruto's. His wounds were bleeding again and he panted heavily. 

Just then his crew arrived at the top of the hill, arguing with each other and Merry. 

Seemingly about the slightly squirming,  _ very _ tied up form of a black butler that hung over Zoro's shoulder. 

"Cap-  _ CAPTAIN KURO!? _ " the pirates yelled as they realized. 

"No way! The long nosed guy was telling the truth!?" 

"I can't  _ believe _ this!" 

Jango was  _ definitely _ sweating now, "Impossible!" 

The Black Cat Pirates froze as their former captain lifted his head to stare at them with soulless black eyes. Zoro bonked his head with the hilt of Wado Ichimonji. He fell limp. 

"Naruto, get up here and actually rest!" Nami yelled from the top. 

The ninja wrinkled his nose, glancing around at the trembling pirates, but complied and left his clones behind to knock out the rest of the downed crew. Luffy patted his head twice before literally picking him up from his scruff and throwing him at Merry. He yelped, surprised. 

"Idiot! What if you'd made him worse!?" Merry griped, tightening up bandages from where he'd started to bleed as Kaya ripped some more of his very abused suit coat to patch up Usopp's cut. 

Usopp was lying on the ground, a dazed look in his eyes as though he was struggling to believe what had just happened. He looked like he was close to weeping in relief. Both for their arrival and their survival. 

He roused to begin a quiet argument about recklessness with Kaya. Naruto didn't think it'd go anywhere. 

His attention drifted to his crew. Luffy was standing back and playing with Kuro's broken-beyond-repair glasses and laughing when the twisted up temples snapped back to hit his, well, temples. He blinked at that, chuckling for a moment too, before focusing on the slope. 

Zoro had gone down with Nami. The navigator was facing the last nine standing while Zoro and the clones surrounded Jango. 

Until Jango called reinforcements from the ship. 

The… Nyaban Brothers? 

"You're not gonna help?" Naruto asked Luffy. 

"Zoro's annoyed he hasn't gotten to fight yet." 

"Ah." 

True to his Captain's words, the clones down the slope backed away to become Zoro's own cheering squad. Much to the swordsman's ire. Unfortunately, up the slope it was much harder to hear what was going on down there. Instead he was subjected to prodding and fussing from a nice sheep butler and watched Luffy poke their unconscious captive. 

"Usopp! Clones! Stop flailing about and start helping me tie these people up!" Nami screeched, fuming as she took a rope out of nowhere. 

Naruto looked at Usopp to see he was being hugged by Kaya and literally flailing. His clones were doing much the same as a commentator and cheering group. He wordlessly crossed his fingers and made six more clones, two of which ran off to get more rope. He asked Usopp if he had any hidden away in his belongings. The sharpshooter did have some. He got directions for his clones with a foxy grin, determined to do a prank on the unsuspecting teen's home. 

By then Merry was done and went to talk with Kaya quietly as Usopp rose to help Nami. Luffy had gotten bored and joined Naruto's cheering squad, much to Zoro's ire as he got distracted enough for the catty brothers to steal a sheath. 

He felt his grin transform into something softer. This was… fun. Good. Like he was someone he had always wanted to be. The one saving the day, with friends, and having fun while at it. 

This was… good. He could get used to it. 

A collective gasp sounded behind him. 

"See? We  _ told _ you Captain Usopp wasn't lying!" 

His brow twitched, having a suspicion about this. The blond turned his head around to see what looked like the entire village gaping at the pirate ship and decimated crew, and what looked like a fighting ring down at the bottom. In the lead were the three kids Naruto had saved from their own stupidity just a bit ago. 

"Wh- What's  _ happened _ here!?"

The whole village looked to Kaya, Merry, and Naruto in askance. 

This would take a while. 

xXXx

Syrup Village hadn't looked this festive in a long time. Sure, there were holidays but they were usually spent more quietly. Exchanging gifts, listening to some speech or other, wishing people well and celebrating with family. Almost all of the people knew each other so birthdays and farewells seemed like more big a deal. 

This time? This time the usually dull monotony of days had been broken by a thwarted attack. A three year plot was uncovered, the town liar had told the truth and defended them, and a small group of youngsters who insisted they were pirates had defeated the traitor and his plot. 

Really, it was something out of a fairy tale! No wonder the village was throwing a party for their continuous survival and their saviors. 

The Marines had been contacted and they would pick up the Black Cat Pirates within the day. Nami, Usopp, and Naruto's clones had done an excellent job at tying them up. The whole crew was mostly unconscious and stuffed in jail cells that hadn't seen a lot of use in the sleepy sort of town. 

Luffy looked right at home in the eating competition while Zoro and Nami enjoyed good sake. Tamanegi, Piiman, and Ninjin were playing around and reenacting much of the battles that had gone on that day. Naruto had joined them, offering many different perspectives since his clones had been all over the place. 

Zoro vs. the Nyaban Brothers was an awesome theateristic show that even the adults enjoyed seeing. Luffy had joined Naruto in cheering the swordsman on but then got in Jango's path and suddenly Naruto's clones had been  _ very  _ busy trying to keep their captain from getting  _ hypnotized _ . Again. It was a very funny story now that it was told afterwards. 

Needless to say, four tag teaming Naruto clones plus Luffy was too much. Jango had been down for the count  _ fast _ and Naruto felt vindicated for putting the one who framed him in jail. Luffy had gotten a punch in just for that. It felt weird to be defended. He was used to doing the defending. 

"Nami-san, are you hurt at all?" Kaya asked after she moved on from treating a reluctant Zoro who had had to put his sake bottle down for treatment. 

The lady had had Merry get some real medical supplies from the town doctor and came to assist the man in patching the fighters up. Naruto had been first to go. Much to their surprise his wounds had substantially healed already and only needed very few stitches. They wouldn't scar. That the boy knew both from experience and the doctor's say so. 

"I'm perfectly fine!" Nami smiled, lifting her small glass a little. "Would you like some?" 

"I don't drink, though the offer is appreciated", the mansion owner replied kindly. 

"Then you'll have to settle with a verbal thank you for your gift", the thief winked and took a small sip of the liquid. 

Kaya and Merry were too kind and gave the pirates a nice little Caravel called the Going Merry. Luffy had gotten a kick out of exploring and Naruto followed suit, snickering all the while. Zoro and Nami kind of turned around in a 'I don't want to know' gesture once they  _ both _ started laughing. 

"No, no! The ship is  _ my  _ thanks to  _ you _ for saving me!" 

The two ladies engaged in pleasant conversation after that. Nami probably enquired about the big boat's capacities in the waters and if there were any quirks she should know of. Kaya had to drag Merry into the conversation too with him being the main carer of the caravel. 

Somehow, Usopp himself wasn't really anywhere to be seen. 

Until- "NARUTO, WHERE DID YOU PUT MY STUFF!" 

The man broke into a coughing fit after shouting, face twisted halfway between anger and  _ ouch _ . Naruto felt a grin sneak on his face. 

"Right where they need to be!" 

Usopp had marched right up to him to grab and lift the stupid prankster off his feet… if it wasn't for his arm he would've. As of now he just flared at the offending bandages and seethed at Naruto. 

"And that is?" he growled. 

"Your room", the ninja replied, grin unwavering. 

The young man let out a gurgling noise made grabby hands at his throat, except right after he had to wince and grab at his bicep. 

"YOU- _ cough, cough-  _ I need to  _ pack! _ " he rasped out. 

A hand landed on Naruto's head. The blond didn't bother to check who, already knowing by the slightly stretched stomach that bumped his arm and the signature laugh from above his head. 

"Naruto packed for you!" 

"Wait, wha- I didn't tell you I was leaving, did I?  _ And that doesn't explain where it all is! _ " 

Around that point the village had started circulating what Usopp was saying and crowding happened all around them. Many murmurs of 'he's leaving?' and 'following his father' went about. 

"On our ship!" Luffy and Naruto chorused, grinning at Usopp's flabbergasted expression. 

"But- But- I'm going off to become… a…", Usopp blinked as he realized what he was saying, "...pirate?" 

"Yeah! You're coming with us!" the Captain of the crew cheered. 

A few cheers erupted around them from the village. People patted Usopp's back and told the pirates to take care of him, Nami and Zoro demanding to know when that had been decided but not minding at all. Actually, they now knew that if they'd listened in on what Naruto and Luffy were talking about while exploring the ship it would've been this. 

By now Usopp had a wondering look in his eyes and a little bit of tears too. 

"I'll be the Captain, right?" he laughed and grinned a little incredulously. 

"BAKA USOPP!!" three kids kicked the man's knees making him fall with an abrupt yelp. 

Luffy just laughed at his groaning form as his little pretend crew berated him, "No way! I'm the Captain!" 

Naruto looked around at villagers whispering about and gathering quick gifts and trinkets into a sneakily circulating traveller's backpack. He smirked. It was a good thing he thought to take the prank this far. Usopp's house had had a  _ lot  _ of stuff, and he'd have had to carry the spontaneous gift on top of that. 

His crew mates had gathered together and interacted naturally, all pitching in on conversation and teasing and laughing. Telling Luffy off for eating so much of the village's food. Usopp looked to be right at home. 

Heh. Even if he didn't have his old precious people right then, Naruto was steadily gathering new ones. 

Life was looking good! 

xXXx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Slow Updates tag seems to be accurate. This took... long. No, I don't have a schedule for the next update either. Nor if the quality will stay consistent. It was a struggle to get through this arc. 
> 
> Does anybody wanna help me with a fiction-is-actually-not-fiction Ask Blog where fictional characters visit the 'real' world? I mean by asking questions so I can draw more of the story/plot. 
> 
> Yes/No?
> 
> [Here's a Tumblr link for the Ask Blog if you answered Yes](https://asktheskylarfamily.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [Or here if you wanna stay in Ao3. It's on both platforms.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28691868)


End file.
